Paul’s 19 Not Enough

Paul Pierce and the Washington Wizards have been frustrated lately by what he dubbed a simple “midseason funk.” And Thursday night against the Charlotte Hornets, The Truth did everything he could to push his team past its rough patch.

No. 34 tallied a team-high 19 points, including 10 to jumpstart his squad in the first quarter, as well as a key late three to keep the Wizards alive—but it wasn’t enough, as D.C. fell 94-87, marking its fifth straight defeat.

“They made the extra efforts tonight, especially late in the game,” Paul explained after the game. “When we needed crucial rebounds, we just couldn’t get it done. We’ve got to find a way, nobody’s going to get us out of this but ourselves. So we can’t point the finger at each other, this has got to come from within. Like I said before, we have to look ourselves in the mirror, take responsibility and get ourselves out of this rut.”

Paul had a strong night individually, going 7-of-13 from the field and adding a pair of rebounds and assists, as well as a block, in 30 minutes of action. However, the collective effort from the Washington club wasn’t enough.

At times this season, the Wizards have looked like a serious title threat in the Eastern Conference, but they have been out of sorts through a five-game skid—all against teams currently bound for the playoffs.

Against the Hornets, owners of the seventh slot in the East, Paul came out determined to stop that slide. Less than a minute into the game, Paul drove to the hoop, hit a tough layup and drew the foul—then he knocked down the ensuing free throw.

Another minute later, The Truth was at it again, this time drilling a three to double his scoring output and tie the game at six. Before coming out in the final minute of the quarter, Paul put in another pair of free throws and added a short jumper to chip in 10 points in the first frame.

The entire team was pretty solid in the first period, though shooting guard Bradley Beal missed all five of his shots before heading to the locker room. He remained out for the game as trainers looked at a toe injury that has been bothering him.

Beal has put up 15 points per game this season, and backup forward Kevin Seraphin, who averages seven per game, was also wearing street clothes on Thursday night. With the young star and the reserve big man unable to contribute, the Wizards desperately needed some offense.

Paul provided that early, while John Wall and Marcin Gortat lent him a hand, each tallying six points. However, on the other end, Gerald Henderson went off for 13 points, and Lance Stephenson added nine to put the Hornets ahead 34-30 after one.

After putting up 30 in the first period, the Wizards got worse with each passing quarter, scoring 24 in the second, followed by 20 in the third and finally a meager 13 in the fourth. Meanwhile, the Hornets scored 34, 15, 20 and 25, respectively.

The Truth came out sparingly in the second, but the Wizards second line outplayed Charlotte’s second unit. Rasual Butler led the way with seven points, while Wall matched those seven while heading up the second group. The biggest change came on defense, as the Wiz held the Hornets to just 15 points on 27.8-percent shooting to take a 54-49 lead into the break.

Paul had six points in the third, and the Wizards shot an impressive 58.8 percent, however thanks to six turnovers, they weren’t able to add to their lead before the fourth.

Injuries and general struggles lately have forced head Ccach Randy Wittman to use lineups that he had never experimented with before, and it showed. Paul said the team stopped communicating and working together late in the game, adding that they’ve gotten out of their early-season rhythm.

“I think we all feel that we can do it ourselves late in the game, and that’s not the case. When we’re playing our best, we’re making the extra passes, finding the open man,” the future Hall of Famer said. “We’ve got to be a better executing team down the stretch and keep our turnovers down. I was a victim of a couple late turnovers, that can’t happen on the rebound. We can’t turn the ball over like we did tonight in the fourth.”

With his team out of sorts, The Truth made some huge plays to help keep the Wizards in the game in the first place. With 5:28 left in the contest, the Wizards clung to an 83-80 lead. Four straight Hornets’ points put Washington down by one and brought No. 34 back off the bench. After Charlotte piled on six more points to take a seven-point lead 1:36 remaining, the Wizards desperately needed a basket to stay afloat.

Enter Paul Pierce.

The Truth hit yet another in a long line of clutch threes, breaking the Wizards’ streak of seven missed shots and four minutes without a point.

But despite Paul’s boost on the offensive end, the stops never came, nor did the rebounds, and the Wizards fell short yet again.

The Wizards shot just 5-of-19 from the field in the fourth quarter, compared to the Hornets’ 8-of-19, and Washington was dominated in the paint. Charlotte won the rebounding battle 18-6 in the final period, and the Hornets blocked four shots to the Wizards’ zero. The Hornets even dominated the free throw battle, hitting all nine of their attempts from the charity stripe in the final quarter while the Wizards went just 1-of-2.

Paul, who is not used to being outplayed late in games, knows the Wizards can right the ship, if they just figure it out their chemistry.

“We’re a team first, it’s not on one guy. If this was boxing or golf, those are one-man sports. You know, it comes from everybody. We’ve got to be a collective unit. We win together, we lose together. It’s not on one person.”

NEXT UP

The Truth will have a day off to help prepare the team for their game against his former team, the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets visit D.C. on Saturday evening, marking the third showdown between the teams this season. They split a home-and-home doubleheader in January, when each team won on the other’s home court, and the Wizards should be especially motivated to stop the Nets from embarrassing them like they did last time the teams met at the Verizon Center. In that game, Jarrett Jack and Brook Lopez led the Nets to a 102-80 throttling of the Wizards.

The game will be played at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally on Comcast Sports Net.

RELATED LINKS

• Wizards fall to Hornets for fifth straight loss (ESPN, February 5, 2015)
• Paul Pierce postgame interview (Monumental Network, February 5, 2015)
• Wizards hold “dirty” practice to regain edge (The Washington Post, February 3, 2015)
• Pierce matches 19-point output on anniversary of debut (The Washington Post, February 5, 2015)