Washington ? As the Washington Wizards huddled to celebrate their victory over the Seattle SuperSonics, Gilbert Arenas had one thing on his mind _ the fact that more people than usual were watching.
And he repeated it over and over.
“We couldn’t even break huddle,” teammate Larry Hughes said. “We couldn’t even discuss practice tomorrow or we had a good game or nothing. He was just talking about winning on TNT, winning on national TV.”
The Wizards made the most of their first national TV appearance in 20 months, building a quick lead with balanced scoring in Thursday night’s 107-96 win.
“First time on television, we won,” said Arenas, flashing his best Hollywood smile. “It was a special moment for us.”
Arenas scored 27 points and Hughes had 21 to lead six players in double figures as the Wizards improved to 5-5 against teams from the Western Conference, the latest notable milestone in what has so far been Washington’s most promising season in nearly two decades.
The Wizards were 9-22 after 31 games a year ago. They’re now 18-13, matching a victory total they didn’t achieve until Feb. 26 last season.
The Wizards, winning their third straight to start a five-game homestand, took advantage of a tired Seattle team that often appeared to have its mind on the trip home after a nine-day, five-game East Coast road trip. The Sonics lost by 18 at Orlando on Wednesday and finished the trip 3-2.
“We didn’t have our legs,” forward Rashard Lewis said. “It should have been 4-1. I thought we gave the game away against Orlando last night, but Washington is a good team.”
Lewis had the only solid game among the Sonics’ starters, but his 35 points and 11 rebounds were enough to keep his team within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Seattle cut a 19-point deficit to six early in the fourth, but a three-point play by Arenas and a 3-pointer by Antawn Jamison restored a double-digit lead. Hughes’ flying one-handed dunk with 1:40 to play was the exclamation point.
Ray Allen, unable to find open looks against Hughes’ defense, missed his first four shots and didn’t score until early in the second quarter. He finished 6-for-20 from the field for 17 points.
“That was my goal _ to stay on top of him,” Hughes said, “make it tough for him and really not let him get off. I did my job the best I could.”
The Wizards also took advantage of a huge discrepancy from the free-throw line, making all 18 attempts in the first half and 31 of 35 for the game. The Sonics made 10 of 14 free throws.
The Sonics made just two of their first 10 shots and shot 28 percent in the first quarter. Lewis scored 13 of Seattle’s 17 first-quarter points.
A dunk by Jared Jeffries pushed the Wizards’ lead into double digits late in the first quarter, and Jarvis Hayes’ 3-pointer after a steal made the score 43-25 midway through the second. The Wizards led 60-42 at halftime.
“We weren’t able to move our feet and contain the ball,” Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. “And it seemed like when we did get back into the game in the second half, we were making mental mistakes and turning the ball over.”
