Rolling Wiz Top Magic

Paul Pierce noted repeatedly during the recent slide of the Washington Wizards that the Wiz would get back on track as soon as they tuned up their defense. Their performance over the last two games has made The Truth look downright prophetic.

Thanks to the play of their defense, the Wizards have quickly put their season-high five-game losing streak behind them  and posted consecutive blowout victories.

The most recent came on Monday night in D.C. when they turned in a brilliant defensive performance and held the Magic to 39.8 percent shooting and under 20 points for each of the first three quarters on the way to a 96-80 victory at the Verizon Center. On the heels of Washington’114-77 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, it was a clear sign that, guided by their defensive effort, the Wizards are back on track with the All-Star break approaching. And although their offense remains a work in progress, Wizards head coach Randy Wittman is encouraged by what’s he seen on the other end.

“I thought we were pretty consistent, defensively,” Wittman said. “We had opportunities to really open up a lead there in the first half, and we didn’t. As I told them at halftime, we can’t take any steps backward defensively, let’s keep moving the ball, let’s get a shot each time down the floor and we’ll make some shots. I thought they did that for the most part, from a defensive standpoint, being focused.”

In their search for the right mix on offense, the Wizards used a committee approach to outcast the Magic. Paul and the starters only outscored their backups by four points. The reserves played so well that John Wall played the most minutes of any starter with just 33, followed by Marcin Gortat, Garrett Temple (26), Paul (22) and Nene (21).

The Truth put up six points, a rebound and an assist, but he was a presence on the defensive end all night and added a pair of steals for his efforts.

With Paul’s help, Washington held Orlando to just 4-of-22 shooting from deep, just two nights after holding the Brooklyn Nets to 77 points on 33.8 percent shooting and a 4-of-18 mark from three-point range. Washington also outrebounded the Magic and Nets a combined 104-71.

Though like many of his teammates, No. 34 is going through a cold shooting spell, he’s resisted the urge to press by forcing bad shots. Instead, The Truth is making an extra effort to get his teammates involved. Paul helped draw defenders off Wall all night on Monday, which helped the star young point guard to an outstanding effort that left him just one point shy of a triple-double.

“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, we missed a lot of open shots early,” Wittman told reporters Monday night. “And that’s one thing we’ve got to keep working on. Sometimes we get a little frustrated. I thought we got a lot of really good looks, they just didn’t go in. Then you almost have that feeling as an individual of, ‘I’m going to get us a bucket here.’ Instead of continually swinging it, moving it side to side, and taking what the defense gives you, we got a little stagnant.”

However, it’s not just his play on the court that makes Paul such a valuable piece to this up-and-coming Wizards team. He is a leader on the floor, on the bench and in the locker room, and he is his teammates’ biggest fan.

Monday night marked the second game in a row that No. 34 secured a steal that ended in a spectacular basket on the other end. On Saturday, Paul found Wall on the run with a long outlet pass after swiping a Mason Plumlee pass, leading to a transition dunk. On Monday, The Truth swiped the ball from Magic rookie Aaron Gordon, then a few moments later, Nene took his defender baseline and finished with a phenomenal reverse jam.

That play revitalized the Wizards shortly before halftime, but they lead by just eight at the break.

However, a three-point barrage in the opening minutes of the second half helped push the game out of Orlando’s reach. Wall opened the third quarter with a trey, Garrett Temple followed with another and Paul completed the trifecta of triples, which made it a 15-point game, 52-37.

The legendary small forward knocked down that three-ball early in the third after adjusting his armband just seconds before the shot, leading some to jokingly suggest the accessory was simply off-kilter.

After that spurt, the Wizards were relentless and closed the frame with a 20-point lead, 74-54. Evan Fournier and Moe Harkless led a fourth-quarter charge from Orlando that cut the deficit in half, but the Wizards kept their foot on the gas. Rasual Butler and Drew Gooden each hit from deep in the waning minutes, and the Wiz closed out the home victory.

NEXT UP

Paul and the Wizards (33-20) complete the first half of their season with a short trip up north to Toronto to take on the Raptors (35-17) Wednesday night in a crucial tilt before the All-Star break.

The Raptors maintain a 2.5 game lead on the Wizards for second place in the Eastern Conference and have beaten Washington both times the teams have met this season.

Toronto began the season series with a 103-84 win over the Wiz north of the border, but the most recent game was more hotly contested. Paul scored 19 points on just 10 shots in the January 31 showdown in D.C., including a pair of free throws in overtime to give the Wizards their first lead of the night. But the Raptors rallied for a 120-116 overtime victory, the second loss in Washington’s recently squashed five-game skid.

Now the Wiz will head back to Toronto looking for a measure of payback. A win before the break would not only help to close the gap on the Raps and the first-place Atlanta Hawks, but also keep the Chicago Bulls and surging Cleveland Cavaliers at bay in the East standings.

Tip-off from Toronto is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game will be shown on Comcast Sports Net.

RELATED LINKS

• Wizards reel off second blowout victory in a row (ESPN, February 9, 2015)
• Paul Pierce weighs in on Kevin Garnett (The Washington Post, February 9, 2015)