Bucks-Wizards (postgame)

The crowd was roaring early when the home team was up double-digits. And then, the dreaded third quarter came and took all the energy and momentum away. In a Shakespearean twist, the fourth quarter brought renewed hope as the Wiz scored 40 to propel the team to win its 3rd straight at home 116-111.

The spark came very late in the 3rd quarter from Antonio Daniels. While everyone was struggling with their shots, AD took it upon himself to get to the free throw line to stay within reach. Later, Caron Butler's play, whose hard-working style turned him into a crowd favorite last year, led the charge to come back. And finally, some unorthodox broken plays to Jamison (resulting in layups) put the Wizards up for good. Of course, #0 sealed it with free throws.

This was a very good win for the Wiz this early in the season. It demonstrated that no matter what, there is a chance for the team to win. Some of the Verizon Center crowd, including myself, were thinking about last year where the Wiz blew big leads and lost at the end. As the Bucks missed shots late, the Wiz's offense went off and caught back up. No opponent wants to see an explosive offensive team like Washington come back after being down by double digits and this is why some experts mentioned in preseason that come playoff time, no one wants to play the Wizards.

Redd started out slow and did damage in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. Villanueva and Bogut established low post position, but foul trouble got to both of them. Mo Williams did not repeat his super performance he had when Milwaukee first visited Washington last season. Etan Thomas picked up early fouls and Coach had to use Haywood and Ruffin a lot in the game. It was good to see Ruffin get quality minutes. The Wiz went to small ball in the 3rd quarter (to generate some offense) but it backfired as the Bucks just took it easy to the rim with their frontcourt size advantage. Arenas was shut down in the 3rd quarter as the Bucks doubled Gilbert when he had the ball.

The play of the night happened during the Wizard's comeback in the 4th quarter. Caron Butler drove baseline, glided underneath the basket (as he was fouled), and made a reverse layup. In the words of a fan sitting 3 seats to my right, that was "Jordanesque". What hang time by Caron!

The Wiz have one more game at home against New Jersey before going on the road. NJ lost a tough game to Miami tonight after they led big early but couldn't hang on. Vince Carter had a monster game, but Wade's numbers were even better. It is never an easy game against the Nets - they have their Big 3 as well (Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson).

Milwaukee: 2-4
Washington: 3-2