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Jamison Scores 28 As Wizards Sweep Hornets, 101-84
posted 9:49 pm Sun March 02, 2008 - WASHINGTON
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Leading 80-79 with 6:40 to play, the Wizards blew the game apart with a 19-0 run. Jamison started it with two free throws and a 3-pointer, then his block of Peja Stojakovic's layup led to a 3-pointer by DeShawn Stevenson that pushed the lead to nine. The Hornets didn't score again until a 3-pointer by Rasual Butler in the final minute.
Stojakovic scored 17 points and Chris Paul had 16 to lead the Hornets, who had won two straight since a 95-92 home loss to Washington last Monday. That game was decided by Stevenson's game-winning 3-pointer, capping a career-high 33 points.
Stevenson finished with 16 in the rematch. The Wizards committed only seven turnovers and forced 15 by the Hornets.
The Wizards spent most of the last month in a horrible slump, thinking injured All-Star forward Butler would return to save the season. Now that they know he might not be back for a while - his hip injury was rediagnosed last week as a small labral tear - they are starting to win without him. Players are taking on new roles, with Darius Songaila moved into the starting lineup and the rookies assured of getting regular playing time for the near future.
Rookie Oleksiy Pecherov hit back-to-back 3-pointers in an 8-2 run that gave the Wizards a 49-35 lead in the second quarter. The Wizards were up 53-40 at the half and 72-61 late in the third, but Paul's fast-break layup started a 18-8 run that pulled the Hornets within one early in the fourth period.
But Jamison started the 21-5 game-ending run. The Wizards emptied the bench after Stevenson's 3-pointer gave Washington a 20-point lead with less than two minutes to play. Notes: New Orleans' Bonzi Wells returned after missing two games with a bruised Achilles' tendon. ... Wizards rookie Nick Young had a career-high six rebounds. ... The Wizards swept the season series against the Hornets for the first time since the Washington Bullets won both meetings with the Charlotte Hornets in 1989-90. ... Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, speaking pregame about his TV preferences: "I either watch basketball or the news - or Hannah Montana with my daughter."
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