On a day where the real referees moved closer to an agreement with the league, the replacement referees bungled a huge call with one second left to give the Wizards a 90-98 win over the 76ers.
Basically, with one second left, Mike James launched a desperation three over Jason Smith and Willie Green that missed badly, except the referees called a foul on Green, giving James three free throws. From the replay shown, it didn't appear that Smith hit James, and it was unclear if Green did either. If Green did, it was barely, the type of play that you don't call at the end of the game.
James eventually hit the first two free throws, then missed the last one left-handed on purpose while missing the rim, giving Philly one last chance. But JaVale McGee, who made a boneheaded play when he tried to go in for a spectacular dunk with only 30 seconds left and the Wizards leading by 1, knocked the ball away, preserving the win.
Win or lose, the Wizards played well, so the ending doesn't really matter. They did a great job defensively and were able to have stretches where the offense really buzzed. Randy Foye recovered from a poor start to post another strong game, though he still struggled running the point. The Wizards dominated inside, with Brendan Haywood destroying Samuel Dalembert, Fabricio Oberto continuing to do his little things act and McGee displaying way more patience and stability than normal. It wasn't a perfect game, but by and large, to play like they did on the road in the second game of a back-to-back against a team that was at full strength is a very good thing.
Get well soon, Gil, AJ and Mike!