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I'm not even going to pretend to be surprised anymore by these Washington Wizards. Lose to the lowly Celtics at home before beating the good Suns on the road, then lose to the lowly Jazz on the road before beating the excellent Warriors on the road. Go figure. Oh, and we're back at .500 again, with a road matchup tonight against the very good Clippers. Joy.
The Wizards beat the Warriors, 88-85, with some stifling defense last night. Washington only shot 37.8 percent, but the Warriors were a smidge worse at 37.5 percent shooting. The Wizards did hit 10 of 22 threes, whereas the Warriors shot only 7-of-23 from deep. The boards were key, as Washington outrebounded Golden State 56-to-47, helping the Wizards attempt 10 more shots than the Warriors, who made it to the line eight more times than the Wiz.
Bradley Beal had Washington's best stat line with 20 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists, and he carried the offense early in the fourth quarter by hitting a few huge threes. But it was Trevor Ariza (nine points, 11 rebounds) and John Wall (15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five turnovers) who, despite middling stats, carried the team to victory, and they did it with defense. Wall harassed Stephen Curry all night, helping "hold" him to an inefficient 23 points, while Ariza's immaculate defense in the game's waning seconds forced Curry into a contested, left-handed shot put that didn't come close to swishing through the net.
I'd say let's see if the Wizards can do it again tonight against the Clippers, but we know better by now, don't we? Stop worrying, and just enjoy the show.
KEY LINKS
Road team recaps: BF StoryStream | Washington Post | AP | CSN Washington (recap, sidebar) | Daily Dime | Truth About It | Wiz of Awes | Hoop District | Ted's Take | Wizards.com | Monumental Network | Daily Wizdom
Home team recaps: Golden State of Mind | San Fransisco Chronicle (gamer, sidebar) | San Jose Mercury News | Warriors World | Bay Area News Group | Bay Sports Net | SF Bay | Blue Man Hoop | Golden Gate Sports
Postgame interviews: Randy Wittman | John Wall | Bradley Beal | Trevor Ariza | Nene
KEY STATS
32.5 - The Splash Bros. combined shooting percentage against the Wizards. Steph Curry shot 8-of-23, while and Klay Thompson went 5-of-17.
3 - After last night, the number of times the Warriors have been held to less than 40 percent shooting. They shot 37.5 percent against the Wizards.
TWEETS OF THE NIGHT
Wall's shooting like Wall and Curry's shooting like Wall..is what I was about to tweet
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) January 29, 2014
If the #Wizards are going to beat Golden State on the road, I'm going to have a drink.
— Conor Dirks (@ConorDDirks) January 29, 2014
Great win for the Wizards @ Golden State...still can't figure them out...lose at Utah, beat Warriors. I keep thinking they'll catch fire...
— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) January 29, 2014
Final record this season: Wittman 2 Crawford 0
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) January 29, 2014
Curry had three points on 9 shots off the pick and roll, seven points on seven ISOs, no ISO points in last four possessions. DAAAAAAMN.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) January 29, 2014
Wizards look to go above .500 tomorrow night for the SEVENTH time this season. SEVEN. 7. Siete'
— The Ball Hogs (@BallHogsRadio) January 29, 2014
Will never not think that Marcin Gortat is a tall Despicable Me character.
— Josh Zavadil (@JoshZavadil) January 29, 2014
VIDEO/GIF OF THE NIGHT
Given the defense the Wizards played against the Warriors, it was fitting the game began like this...
and ended like this.
GAMETHREAD COMMENT OF THE NIGHT
GAMETHREAD ROLLCALL
