Wizards Tie Record For Worst Start, Corralled By Mavericks 97-86

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap

One thing is for certain – it has to certainly hurt to be a Washington Wizards fan, what with the firing of Eddie Jordan and the rash of injuries on their roster. The culture of winning just isn’t there right now and the odds are extremely high that they will not see the postseason this campaign. In Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, reserve guard Jason Terry ensured that the Wizards would continue their losing ways as he scored 25 points, leading Dallas to the 97-86 win at Verizon Center. The loss dropped Washington to 4-21, equalling a franchise worst for this juncture of the NBA season.

Neither team stood out offensively as Dallas outscored Washington 22-21 while the Wizards outscored the Mavericks 23-20 as Washington went into halftime with a slim 44-42 lead; Jason Kidd would put Dallas up for good in the fourth quarter. While he didn’t score, he set the tone by his leadership and assists which put the game out of reach around mid-quarter. An interesting note – Dallas hoisted up 30 three-point attempts but only made 5 (16.7%), yet still managed to pull out the win.

Dallas’ high scorer was Terry with 25 (including 4 treys) from off the bench with a rebound, 2 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Dirk Nowitzki added 23 with 9 rebounds and 2 assists; Josh Howard pitched in, scoring 17 while Erick Dampier grabbed 12 boards and Jason Kidd dished out 11 assists. Washington was led by Antawn Jamison with 22 points, 8 rebounds, an assist and a steal while Caron Butler added 18 (including three 3-pointers) with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals; Mike James chipped in, scoring 17 with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals but 5 turnovers. Dallas (15-11) plays again on Tuesday when they host the Memphis Grizzlies while Washington (4-21) travels to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats – also on Tuesday night.

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