WASHINGTON -- Less than a week ago, after dispiriting losses to Portland and New Jersey, the Washington Wizards were flopping and flailing, leaving coach Doug Collins wailing for some kind of team presence.
Off last night's 118-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at MCI Center, the Wizards look as crisp and as unified as they have all year, winning three straight games with their most potent offense to date.
For a second straight game, Washington (12-13) established a season high for field-goal percentage, hitting 62 percent from the floor, to go along with a season-high 32 assists.
In Collins' mind, the seeds of last night's performance were planted last Friday when the Wizards scored a franchise-low 65 points at New Jersey, totaling only three assists.
From there, the team looked inward, or as much as the NBA schedule allows, and has posted successively impressive wins over Toronto, Atlanta and the Grizzlies.
"There comes a point, I don't care if it's in your life or whatever, where you evaluate," said Collins. "After the New Jersey game, we had a lot of evaluating to do, about what kind of team we were going to be.
"I think we have shown that the togetherness aspect of us is what it's all about [and], bringing out the best in your teammate, helping your teammate. When that happens, everybody is able to flourish. In the Jersey game, we were the epitome of everything but that. The great thing I have is great guys on this team who are very professional and who want to win."
Chief among them in this stretch has been Michael Jordan, who posted another turn-back-the-clock performance last night, following his 30-point performance in Atlanta Tuesday with a season-high 33-point game, hitting 14 of 23 shots from the floor in an efficient 35 minutes.
"Those were good minutes, because everything is in rhythm," said Jordan. "I'm working hard, but I'm coming off the ball, the ball is moving, we're setting screens and we're in a good rhythm and we're getting to the free-throw line. That's when I'm at my best."
And so are the Wizards, who placed five players in double digits, including Jerry Stackhouse, who had 25 points and seven assists, and Larry Hughes, who had 14 points and six assists.
The big beneficiaries were Washington's big men, center Brendan Haywood and forward Kwame Brown, who each recorded a double double. Both fed off the scoring of Jordan and Stackhouse to power Washington's inside game against the Grizzlies (7-20), who recorded their first win of the season over the Wizards last month.
"With them playing zone and M.J. and Stack coming out and scoring big, I was just wide-open," said Brown, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. "I was so wide-open on one play I forgot the ball. If I keep playing aggressive and M.J. and Stack keep having nights like this, it will be really easy."
To call the Wizards' shooting in the first half unconscious would hardly do it justice. Not only did they hit seven straight in the first quarter after a 1-for-6 start, but over a 12-minute period spanning the first two periods, Washington hit 17 of 20 shots, an otherworldly 85 percent.
Overall, the Wizards shot 64 percent from the field for the half and posted 67 points, one night after scoring 65 in the first half against Atlanta.
"We're taking care of business against teams that we feel we should," said Jordan. "Obviously, when you play against teams with better records, we'll have to take care of the basketball better. We still made mistakes out there, but overall, in the flow of the game, we played well."
FGFTReb
MEMPHISMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Gasol3810-155-61-32325
Gooden288-133-33-50219
Wright326-110-02-72312
Person293-80-00-0226
Williams313-52-20-411210
Knight91-10-00-0102
Battier203-51-21-2119
Giricek192-101-11-2425
Swift144-60-00-1038
Watson81-30-00-0302
Batiste121-20-00-1012
Totals24042-7912-148-252619100
Percentages: FG .532, FT .857. 3-point goals: 4-9, .444 (Battier 2-3, Williams 2-4, Giricek 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: 11 (17 PTS). Blocked shots: 5 (Wright 2, Swift, Battier, Person). Turnovers: 11 (Gasol 4, Knight 2, Williams, Battier, Gooden, Giricek, Watson). Steals: 5 (Battier, Gasol, Wright, Gooden, Batiste). Technical fouls: None. FGFTReb
WASHINGTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Stackhouse3710-174-40-27325
Laettner272-32-22-3546
Haywood415-81-15-122511
Jordan3514-233-30-52033
Hughes266-82-21-26214
KBrown286-92-30-103114
Russell162-20-00-2016
Lue262-62-20-1607
Cardinal20-02-20-0002
Jeffries20-00-00-0100
Totals24047-7618-198-373216118
Percentages: FG .618, FT .947. 3-point goals: 6-13, .462 (Russell 2-2, Jordan 2-3, Stackhouse 1-3, Lue 1-5). Team rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 14 (8 PTS). Blocked shots: 6 (Laettner 2, Haywood 2, K.Brown, Stackhouse). Turnovers: 13 (Jordan 3, Stackhouse 3, Lue 2, Hughes 2, Laettner, K.Brown, Haywood). Steals: 8 (Jordan 3, Laettner 2, Lue, Hughes, Russell). Technical fouls: Haywood, 11:31 second. Memphis22242826--100
Washington32352427--118
A--20,173 (20,674). T--1:59. Officials--Bob Delaney, Sean Corbin, Tony Brown.
Next for Wizards
Opponent:San Antonio Spurs
Site:SBC Center, San Antonio
When:Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
TV/Radio:Ch. 50/WTEM (980 AM)