EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Washington Wizards nearly pulled off the ultimate in Houdini acts last night, but couldn't pull an ugly win out of their hats over the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets.
The Wizards shaved a 16-point first-half deficit down to two in the fourth quarter, but just couldn't overcome their horrid shooting as the Nets seized a 79-65 win.
The 65 points were an all-time low in the 41-year history of the Washington franchise.
Afterward, Washington coach Doug Collins looked forlorn, searching for some kind of combination that will bring life to his frustrated team.
"It was so disappointing," Collins said. "That first half was as disappointing a basketball as I've ever watched one of the teams that I've been involved with play. It seemed like the more I said, 'Move the ball,' the more it stopped. I hope my coaching is not now, 'Move the ball. Please screen. Move the ball. Please screen.' That's basically what I said the whole night. And for some reason, we're not getting it. We're not getting it."
Jerry Stackhouse, the team's leading scorer, had 14 points but did not get off the bench in the fourth quarter after scoring eight points in the third period. Stackhouse also expressed frustration after the game.
"Right now, there's a little uncertainty," Stackhouse said. "Everything breathes and exudes through myself and Michael [Jordan], and if we happen not to go well, our whole team doesn't go well. I have to find a way, and I put the onus on myself, to try to find a way to make it happen.
"But it's hard. The places, the things that I feel that I do well and have been making me who I am for the last eight years, I'm not really taking advantage of it in what we're doing right now. We just have to have discussion and talk about it and find some common ground."
Meanwhile, Jordan, who had 12 points but was 1-for-6 in the fourth, also voiced concern about the team's direction.
"I don't know where we are right now, in terms of just coming out of this funk that we're in," Jordan said. "We need something to ignite us to get us back into a good rhythm. Right now, we don't know what we're going to bring to the table, and that's confusing, that's frustrating."
Even with the offensive drought, the Wizards accomplished what they wanted defensively, which was to slow down the racehorse-like Nets (16-7). New Jersey outscored Washington 21-6 on fast-break points, which was nearly as devastating as last season's 111-67 loss here when the Nets blitzed Washington by 40 in fast-break points.
"We made them become more of a jump-shooting team, and we didn't allow them to get a lot of fast-break opportunities," said Stackhouse. "On offense, we had some opportunities, but it's all out of rhythm. We are totally out of rhythm right now, and that's why you see shots that look like that they are out of sync or aren't falling. And when we find a rhythm, we go away from it. I don't have all the answers, man. I want us to get out of it, but right now, there's kind of a feeling that we're sinking a little bit. We just have to tie the knot and hold on."
The Wizards, who trailed by as many as 16 in the first half when they scored only 28 points and got three assists, got to within two in the fourth, when Jordan hit a 17-footer with 8:54 left.
From there, however, the Nets outscored Washington 22-10 to clinch the win. Richard Jefferson, who had a game-high 21 points and Jason Kidd, who notched his 48th career triple double, led the way.
Washington's Larry Hughes had his fifth straight double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
FGFTReb
WASHINGTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Stackhouse305-183-31-12114
Laettner270-42-20-7352
Haywood170-12-21-3032
MJordan405-202-20-54212
Hughes409-141-21-102319
Oakley50-00-01-1020
Russell90-00-00-0000
Brown283-51-21-4157
Lue244-60-00-1219
Jeffries70-10-00-0010
Thomas130-20-23-5020
Totals24026-7111-158-37142565
Percentages: FG .366, FT .733. 3-point goals: 2-7, .286 (Lue 1-2, Stackhouse 1-3, Hughes 0-2). Team rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 22 (22 PTS). Blocked shots: 4 (Haywood 2, Laettner, Brown). Turnovers: 19 (M.Jordan 4, Thomas 3, Lue 2, Laettner 2, Hughes 2, Stackhouse 2, Oakley 2, Brown, Haywood). Steals: 9 (Laettner 2, Brown 2, M.Jordan 2, Hughes, Russell, Stackhouse). Technical fouls: Laettner, 9:58 third; Lue, 11:01 fourth. Flagrant fouls: Hughes, 2:43 fourth. FGFTReb
NEW JERSEYMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Jefferson388-155-62-82121
Martin317-135-51-71419
JCollins291-51-23-7053
Harris363-96-60-01112
Kidd395-171-10-1010111
Rogers273-90-01-5227
Williams192-22-22-2206
Slay90-30-00-0010
Johnson120-10-00-2010
Totals24029-7420-229-41181679
Percentages: FG .392, FT .909. 3-point goals: 1-10, .100 (Rogers 1-3, Harris 0-1, Kidd 0-2, Martin 0-2, Slay 0-2). Team rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 16 (15 PTS). Blocked shots: 7 (Williams 3, Kidd, J.Collins, Jefferson, Rogers). Turnovers: 16 (Martin 5, Jefferson 3, Kidd 2, Williams 2, J.Collins 2, Johnson 2). Steals: 9 (Kidd 2, Martin 2, Jefferson 2, Harris, Williams, Rogers). Technical fouls: Jefferson, 11:01 fourth. Washington14142017-65
New Jersey22161922-79
A-17,208 (20,049). T-2:19.Officials-Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer, Courtney Kirkland.
Next for Wizards
Opponent:Toronto Raptors
Site:Air Canada Centre, Toronto
When:Tomorrow, 1 p.m.
TV/Radio:Comcast SportsNet/WTEM (980 AM)