UNDERMANNED WIZARDS FALL TO HEAT
Wednesday, February 28th, 2007The Wizards started out Wednesday’s game against the Heat on the wrong end of a scoring run, falling early by as many as 17 points. But the Wizards closed in and took the lead in the second half (a small lead, but a lead nonetheless). In the end, it was too much Shaquille O’Neal, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to help put the game out of reach for Washington, who fell to Miami 83-92 at Verizon Center.
“During our pregame, we asked our team to compete at the highest level and to compete with all of their heart, and we did it,” said Coach Eddie Jordan. “We shared the basketball, we played the correct way, we competed, we were physical, we were active and it just wasn’t enough because we didn’t make shots.”
LISTEN: Head Coach Eddie Jordan
DeShawn Stevenson scored a team-high 19 points. Gilbert Arenas added 15 points, while Jarvis Hayes nearly had a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds). Roger Mason came off the bench and reached double-figures for the third straight game (11 points).
“We have to continue to believe in each other and our coaching staff,” said Antonio Daniels. “We will get it back together. It’s not the first time we’ve dealt with something like this. We will be okay. The last thing we need to do is start pointing fingers or getting down on each other. We need to stay optimistic and realize what we need to fix to get back on the winning side.”
Mike Hall, who was signed earlier in the day after the Wizards released James Lang, was inactive for the game. Starters Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were both held out of the line-up. After the game Jordan indicated that one or both players could return this weekend, but was cautious about expectations.
“I told the team after the game, if the cavalry comes around the corner on Friday or Sunday, it is not guaranteed that we are going to get a win. Quite frankly, the guys are going to be rusty coming back. They are going to have to find their rhythm, but hopefully they will find it quickly.”








