Magical Pixels, Wizards vs. Blazers: Washington achieves a winning record, and now we can believe in miracles

If you woke up this morning and immediately went to your computer (or smartphone, Google glasses, WiFi-capable contact lenses, etc.) to check whether the Washington Wizards had actually, finally, achieved a winning record Monday by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers, 100-90, rest assured, you weren't alone.

And if, upon seeing that the Wizards, indeed, currently sport a 24-23 record, you immediately refreshed your browser, well, join the club. Can you really blame Wizards fans for being skeptical, after all. We've all but forgotten what it feels like to root for a winning club. Sure, it may have only been five years since Washington had a winning record, but that's eons in terms of sports fandom. John Wall got a max contract before he played for a winning basketball team. Think about that for a second, but not too long, or you might start bleeding out of your ears.

Not only did the Wizards finally go above .500 last night, but they did it by holding the NBA's highest-scoring offense to 90 points, and beating the Western Conference's second-best team two days after beating its best team in the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Wall continued to justify his All-Star selection by recording 22 points, five assists, five rebounds,  and three steals, while generally controlling the game every second he was on the floor. Trevor Ariza was great once again, scoring 20 points while playing stifling defense, and with Bradley Beal, Nene and Marcin Gortat all struggling offensively, Kevin Seraphin picked up the scoring load with 19 points off the bench.

What a win, and what a way to go above .500. As reward, the Wizards tomorrow get to face the San Antonio Spurs, who now have the West's second-best record following Portland's loss. But not to worry, for as of late, these Wizards have doubled as giant killers.

KEY LINKS

Home team recaps: BF StoryStream | SB Nation NBA | Washington Post (gamer, sidebar, Jason Reid column) | AP | CSN Washington (recap, sidebar) | Wiz of Awes | District Sports Page | ESPN | Wizards.com | Monumental Network | Daily Wizdom

Road team recaps: Blazer's Edge | The Oregonian (gamer, sidebar) | Portland Tribune | The Columbian | Rip City Project | Blazers.com (recap, notes)

Game highlights

Postgame interviews: Randy Wittman | John Wall | Bradley Beal | Kevin Seraphin | Trevor Ariza | Damien Lillard | LaMarcus Aldridge | Terry Stotts

KEY STATS

16 - Portland turnovers against Washington, versus just six turnovers for the Wizards.

45.7 - Blazers' shooting percentage against the Wizards, which doesn't seem that great, until you remember that Portland shot 61 percent in the first half. That's some pretty good second-half defense.

86.4 - Washington's free throw shooting percentage against the Blazers. The Wizards made 19-of-22 foul shots, while Portland only took 12 freebies, sinking 11 of them.

TWEETS OF THE NIGHT

Egad. RT @MrMichaelLee: Hey, hey, watch that right fibula, young man RT @recordsANDradio: Beal slam. #Wizards pic.twitter.com/3At2mEaz7Q

— Cindy Boren (@CindyBoren) February 4, 2014

@teamziller c'mon

— Jack Kogod (@Unsilent) February 4, 2014

Me either RT @cjholley8 I'm not going to acknowledge what's happening until this game is officially over.

— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) February 4, 2014

#NeverEasy

— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) February 4, 2014

OMG there are MVP chants for Wall

— Amin Vafa (@AminNBA) February 4, 2014

Congrats Washington pic.twitter.com/JPpIuF3DG7

— Bo Churney (@bochurney) February 4, 2014

Pretty impressive crowd at Verizon Center tonight, per the official box score. Apparently much of DC was there. pic.twitter.com/eWTOMw5Ncx

— Satchel Price (@SatchelPrice) February 4, 2014

This is why the #Wizards are over .500 #Brazil #NBA pic.twitter.com/TCEjsLOYEc

— thom loverro (@thomloverro) February 4, 2014

lost about .500 RT @dcsportsbog Leonsis around the time the Wiz were last over .500 & Leonsis today pic.twitter.com/gU56H1yo86

— wizznutzz (@wzzntzz) February 4, 2014

DID YOU KNOW: Wizards are the ONLY team in NBA this season to beat Heat, Thunder and Blazers by double digits.

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 4, 2014

But there could be only one Highlander Tweet last night...

It's never too late, come back anytime #WizBlazers RT @trailblazers Is it too late to join the Eastern Conference? Asking for a friend.

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) February 4, 2014

BOOM. *mic drop*

VIDEO/GIF OF THE NIGHT

(H/T @recordsANDradio)

GAMETHREAD COMMENT OF THE NIGHT

GAMETHREAD ROLLCALL

#	Commenter	# Comments
1	Wall_Hopeful	69
2	souldrummer	65
3	wad0cash	61
4	HailSkinz	61
5	Yeti60	58
6	Craig_	43
7	Big Purp	42
8	Singhgidda	40
9	qthaballa	34
10	gregjohnson1229	32
11	Durant	30
12	elliotlevy2	30
13	Banode	28
14	LRJ	26
15	abala	24
16	Shark Fin Soup	23
17	dc_chilling	20
18	richkam14	19
19	Baird15	19
20	jarem	19
21	johnny obeid	17
22	DMV Cock	15
23	BackScreenLob	13
24	imperialme	13
25	DCON88	12
26	the new Bradfather	12
27	gavalon55	11
28	Krobify	11
29	17squall	9
30	ZonkerBL	9
31	DCnhokies	8
32	esc7391	8
33	Asdesas	8
34	DCKRS	7
35	tw10	7
36	abdou77	6
37	DCPerspective	6
38	returnofswagger	5
39	jaffejoe	4
40	DCeee	4
41	Mandark	4
42	jayxelo	4
43	nesby8	3
44	TFaith	3
45	BealMVP4ever	2
46	rhythmic	2
47	YoungBoris	2
48	Croftonpost	2
49	WizKid27	2
50	Rook6980	2
51	'SkinsFan214life	2
52	SladeKillah	1
53	rsilbe	1
54	Kazper	1
55	Shawn-Paul Muth	1
56	Holt .70 and Two Good Goals	1
57	The Dark Side of the Sun	1
58	Born of Osiris	1
59	capital city banana smushers	1
60	DSRalltheway	1
61	NewRetroGeneral	1
62	ATrueNigerian	1
63	ExcuseMeDearSir	1
64	Triple Net	1
65	mrudolph30	1
66	sameer_	1
67	southloop	1
68	spanishfalcon	1
69	Jormond Wall	1
70	gray16	1
71	oakhillsteeze	1
72	forthepeople	1