There came a point in the third quarter when the Wizards stopped attacking the rim. Andray Blatche was doing it for a while, but he went out, started to lose his rhythm and nobody else really picked it up. Ideally, this would be time for John Wall to put his head down and get to the rim, but he didn't, for some reason, even though he was guarded by Earl Boykins. Throw in Nick Young getting taken out for the final six minutes of the quarter (more on that in a second), and you get another loss.
Otherwise? It's simplistic, but it really comes down to making shots. When you play the Bucks, you're playing a jump-shooting game, because that's what they do and that's what they force you to do. Early on, they were missing everything, and the Wizards were running out in transition and getting easy scores. But eventually, the Bucks starting making more shots, and those opportunities disappeared. Suddenly, it was the Wizards who were shooting jumpers, and we know what happens then.
Also, I was confused by Flip Saunders' substitution patterns tonight. He took Young out early in the the third, and had Rashard Lewis and Wall play the entire quarter. Naturally, Wall got tired, then sat out too long to start the fourth, and that was the game. If I was there, I'd ask Flip about why he decided to manage the minutes like that.
0-20 now, and tough road games are on the way. This could be a while.
(Alright, fine, I'll admit it: Boykins changed the game. Dammit).