The Wizards seemed to have everything under control with a 31 point lead going into the third quarter, but gave up 31 points to the 76ers in the fourth quarter. Luckily for the Wizards, the 76ers actually enjoy to lose games, and let the Wizards score 13 points in the fourth to seal the victory. These late pushes must be stopped, or at least contained by the Wizards to make sure that when the Wizards are up by anything more than twenty points, they win the game easily.
Marcin Gortat finally woke back up and had a monster game for the Wizards with 23 points in a nearly perfect shooting performance where he only missed one of his eleven shots. Gortat also managed to grab fourteen rebounds and dished out three assists en route to another double-double for the Polish Hammer. He really picked up the slack for a Nene, who only managed to score 4 points and grab 5 rebounds in the victory. It’s nice to see Gortat help out Nene even though Nene is usually the one who picks up the slack for Gortat.
John Wall gave out 15 assists in the first three quarters in the victory for the Wizards. He was finding the open man every time down the court, especially on pick-and-rolls with Gortat. Wall also managed to score 13 points and grab 4 rebounds as he was the second Wizards to complete a double-double.
Getting the start over Paul Pierce, who was out for rest, Otto Porter scored 15 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out an assist. Otto’s performance helped guide the Wizards to an undefeated record (3-0) when the Wizards start the combination of Wall, Beal, Porter, Nene, and Gortat. Porter will obviously not threaten Paul Pierce’s starting role, but it is nice to know that tonight’s lineup has also worked in past performances.
Tonight, the Wizards showed just how dominating they can be in games against teams that are not their caliber. Now only if the Wizards could do this against playoff teams, they would be guaranteed an NBA championship this season. At least it’s good to know the Wizards have a performance like this one in them, and if it can happen again at the right time, things may finally be back to normal in DC.
