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| Wizards C Nenê (42) returned from injury to score six points |
It took 13 tries, but the Washington Wizards finally earned their first victory of the 2012-13 season last night, with a hard fought 84-82 win over the Portland Trail Blazers before 14,114 at Verizon Center.
Wizards' fans shouldn't get too excited just yet: Les Boulez still own the league's worst record (1-12) but it must feel nice to have a win under their belts. Jordan Crawford came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, begging the question... Why is rookie Bradley Beal still starting? Beal's future looks bright, but he continued to shoot poorly last night, scoring 5 points on 2-6 shooting (including a 3-pointer.) At the rate head coach Randy Wittman has been tinkering with his lineup, don't be surprised to see Crawford in the starting five when the Wiz travel to Madison Square Garden on Friday night to face Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks.
After going into halftime tied at 43, the Wizards outscored Portland 25-16 in the third quarter. Trevor Ariza scored 14 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 2 three-pointers in 36 minutes of action. If Washington can get this kind of effort from Ariza on a regular basis, the Wizards might be able to get this bus back on the road. Speaking of the Wizards bus... its driver, John Wall still doesn't have a time table to return, but he hasn't suffered any setbacks in his recovery from a stress fracture in his right knee. Hopefully Santa Claus will deliver a healthy Wall to Wizards fans before Christmas.
Click here for last night's box score.
