Briefing: Wizards Hold on to Beat the Sixers

Game Hub | Boxscore | Game Flow

[Ed. Note: Obviously, there was a lot more than a game going on last night.  Today's briefing will be two-part.  The first part will focus striclty on the game last night and in the second part we'll focus on tributes to Abe Pollin. -Jake]

Wizards pull off comeback, hang on for win - Mike Jones, Outlet
The unlikely hero of the night, however, was Nick Young. Young had been inactive on Saturday night, and had five DNP's this season. But he came out tonight with the Wizards shorthanded with Mike Miller and Caron Butler out with injuries, he started and played a smart game on both ends of the floor. He scored 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists. 

Wizards 108, 76ers 107 - Michael Lee, Wizards Insider
Young helped hold Andre Iguodala to just 12 points on 2 of 10 shooting. He also made some smart basketball plays, like when he recovered a loose ball in the third quarter and alertly called timeout before falling out of bounds. Saunders said that going on the inactive list probably forced Young to say, " 'I got a choice. I can change myself or go along with the motions.' To his credit, our last few practices, he's probably been our best player."  

Wizards win one for Pollin - William Yoder, Agent Dagger
Antawn Jamison notched a free throw at the 8:24 mark in the third to get things started for the Wizards and to give them a 56-55 Wizards lead. From there on the Wizards would turn up the pace as the club would go on a 19-4 run to take a 15 point lead at 74-59. In a stretch where the Wizards looked like the club we had hoped to see going into 2009, as opposed to the club we have, Washington shot seven for nine from the field while tallying four assists and no turnovers. It was a stretch where the Wizards looked like a team that was in-synch offensively, and mature enough to hold on to the ball.

GM 13 RECAP: WTF !? - Philadunkia
The Wizards won without Caron Butler. — Out with a sore ankle, we thought the loss of Butler’s 16 & 7 a night would spell doom for the Wizards.  We were wrong as the Sixers had no answer for Antwan Jamison (32 points) or Nick Young and that was all the Wizards needed.  By the way, how good is Jamison?  You really forget just how good he is because he is such a quiet guy and plays in DC, but he is just awesome and arguable one of the best forwards in the League.

Defensive lapse proves costly to Sixers - Kate Fagan, Philadelphia Inquirer
In the third quarter, nothing blocked the Wizards from the rim: They shot 16 for 25 and built a 15-point lead. What happened to the Sixers' defense? "The same thing we've been doing all year," said swingman Andre Iguodala, who shot 2 for 10 and sat for most of the fourth quarter. "Giving up open shots, second-chance points. Teams get in a good rhythm, and we don't apply enough pressure and they score the ball pretty easily."

Sixers lose to Wizards, but Jrue is free! - Jordan Sams, Liberty Ballers
The game-winning attempt upset some people. Lou dribbled 11 seconds off the clock and pulled up for a jumper instead of driving to the basket. I completely understand why fans are mad that he didn't go to the basket, but I'm okay with the shot myself. What I'm not okay with is the 11 seconds he dribbled off the clock. I would've much rather seen him take a quicker shot, so the Sixers could foul and get the ball back should he miss. My counter to the people saying he should've taken it to the hoop is: how many NBA players settle for a game-winning jump shot instead of taking it to the hole? 99%. That doesn't make it right, but that's the NBA folks. Everyone wants to be a hero and hold the pose.