p on comcast sportsnet, next. >> steve: from the palace of auburn hills, michigan, comcast is on the air for wizards basketball. tonight the wizards try to stop a five-game slide and look for their first game this season

against the 22-42 detroit pistons. second of three in a row for washington. they'll be them to play the magic tonight at home. we're beginning to see a little different side to this wizards team. the emergence of javale mcgee and of course the play of andray blatche. >> phil: both guys are 7- footers. both guys are permanently in the starting lineup. how about jacksonville, javale mcgee, a new career high for him. last night, that 30-point game t became the 5th time in the last 12 games he's done that.

javale mcgee also putting up some great numbers. he made 10 field goals, 8 of them were dunks. >> steve: he is a high-flyer. the pistons are suffering through a tough season. they too have some impress i young players. >> phil: jonas jerebko last made february eastern conference of the month. he put up some solid numbers. will bynum, you can see his numbers there. he had eight rebounds. >> steve: another productive game for nick young who came off the washington bench to score 17 points against atlanta. he's beginning to find

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a symptom through the palace of auburn hills. 20 years old and still going strong. tonight, the final game of four against detroit. that's the topic of our philosophy 45 with former bullets great, bill. >> with the overload of games, the wizards have to get more production from each and every player and at every position. on offense, good guard play can put the team in better attack mode. on defense, they have to do a good job of guarding the perimeter shot. last knight against the hawks, our guards had 16 assists. they came up short, making 1 of 10 from three-point range. to compound the problem, atlanta guards made half their

shots, including 7 threes. that's too much of a point differential. miller who started in the back court, randy still trying to be better at the point guard. mike started out fast. nick had his second good scoring night. his first back-to-back games with 15 or more pointed since november. tonight's opponent is largely a perimeter team. once again, good guard play will be key. stay tuned, buck will return with the opening tip. get hou o hingat? ow t som een g toyou. you lo--utte

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a record of 21- 41 overall. they have lost five in a row. it's randy foye and mike mil miller in the back court. thornton and blatche. head coach used to be here in detroit. flip saundres had last season off after coaching the pistons for three years. he had a lot of success here in detroit. a pistons team that is 22-42 on the year. they have lost 7 of their last 8 games.

the coach is a familiar one to d.c. folks as well. it's john kuester. he was the head coach at georgia washington university from 1985 to 1990. our toyota ones to watch will be mcgee who is really starting to come on to the scene, so to speak. he was a high-flyer last night in the loss to atlanta. >> phil: it's going to be fun to watch and follow up that career-high performance. i want to see him try to level off and have to consistency. maxiell has had 27 rebounds and that includes a career-high 6 in the game against houston. >> steve: the wizards have bond three straight to this pistons team this year. what are the crease for a washington victory tonight? >> phil: they've got to get a

hand. this is a perimeter shooting team. they have to distract those outside shooter. they've got to get more sharp, offensively. they have to raise their shooting percentage. washington will always be hit hard by these uconn guys. they are the skilled players, the blue collar guys. that's jerebko and maxiell. they're hustle players who get a lot done. >> steve: the wizards have been made over with butler and heywood leaving for dallas. antwan jim son leaving. new head coach flip saundres talked about his new wizards just minutes ago. >> it's been difficult. i've had a lot of fun here the last two weeks with our young players.

not just because of having young players, but to see how andray and those guys are improving. they've improved by leaps and bounds. i think that's something as an organization we can hang our hat on knowing we're going to get gilbert back, have draft pick. we're going to have a lot of cash. we're going to have the ability to change this team drastically next year. >> steve: it's interesting that flip, and more and more you hear people talking about the fact that gilbert could be back in a washington uniform next year. it hasn't been officially discussed. everywhere we, go people say to us, is he going to be a wizards again? we say, there's that chance. >> phil: he averaged close to 30 points a game. you don't just want to be

haphazard with him. >> steve: the sentencing on gilbert arenas will take place on march 26 for the weapons possession charge. >> phil: you talked about gilbert, i just read something today where he had applied to the league, this is something we talked about before, to change his number. >> steve: applied for and was granted permission to change to 6. we understand he placed a call to mike miller and say, hey, do you mind if i take your number? mike said, you know, what, you're going to be back here, you can have it. so if that does happen next year, agent 0 will be no longer. we'll have to come up with something else. >> phil: a new identity. >> steve: that would be nice. >> phil: all the way around, yeah. >> steve: so here we go for the 4th and final time this season. detroit looking for their first season sweep against the

wizards since 204-2005. papa john's tip is coming up. they have beaten the wizards four straight times here at the palace. the last washington win here was in january 26, 2007, the season before last. the wizards get the tip. great to have you with us tonight as the wizards try to end a five-game losing streak. they dropped one to atlanta last night. they play the magic tomorrow night in washington. blatche's first shot, no good. orlando beating chicago last night.

tayshaun prince from the top of the three, good. >> phil: it could be very effective. he got the ball in, out to the open shot. >> steve: wizards lost seven of the last eight. detroit's won five in a row against the wizards. last year they won three out of four. there's the jumper by thornton, good. >> phil: it took so long for them to get into that. only two seconds when thornton released it. >> steve: pistons lost to the jazz here wednesday. they dropped seven out of their last eight.

fade away jumper was short. >> phil: you can see maxiell in that position, taking shots. that's going to be very effective for washington. he's a much stronger player on the inside. >> steve: rick hamilton is about as good as anybody getting that shot up quick. three-pointer, no good. bynum for the rebound. jonas jerebko with a rebound. he's a rookie from cleveland.

randy foye connects on the three. randy foye, who last knight against atlanta, went 0-4 from long range. >> phil: washington had one main three. nick young brought that. >> steve: 7-5. a little short. mcgee had nine rebounds last night. he was a rebound shy of a double-double. he had 8 dunks in that game. here's javale. foye again for the jumper. that's way off to the right. hamilton again, richard hamilton in his 11th year from utah. it's his 8th year with detroit after his first 3 seasons in

washington. the wizards picked him 7th in '99. >> phil: he was able to step through and deliver the shot. >> wizards three of six. pistons four of seven. hamilton off the three. three seconds to shoot, bynum inside, lay it is off and a foul will be called. >> phil: see that clock? >> i do. one second remaining. >> phil: they did a good job of switching, communicating. they got that down to one second and fouled. that called on javale.

>> steve: the jazz here, detroit led bay point after one. utah took a commanding 20-point lead at the half. the jazz also had 7 guys with double figures. they're without ben wallace tonight. it's his 6th straight miss. now, the officials are going to call traveling.

they're going to say blatche lost possession of the ball and caught his own pass and turned it over. >> phil: the wizards fan react. flip saundres is not liking it. it did look like it slipped out of his hands. >> steve: even jerebko said he had no contact. hamilton off the screen. >> phil: just like that, three for three. >> steve: wizards last night with 21 turn overs in that game. it created 32 atlanta points. blatche scores and he's fouled. >> phil: this is what we hope to see more of from andray,

showing some strength inside and carrying it towards the basket, not away. >> steve: 30 points last night against the hawks. he made all six of his free throws. he's averaging about 21 points and almost 10 rebounds in 16 games as a starter this season. the detroit lead once again to 2. rich hamilton is four-four. >> phil: he's trying to stay with it. rich is so good at moving without the ball and running his defender off. >> steve: a holding fall, it will be washington ball on the

side. he's just about 19 points on the season. >> phil: he continued that trend here in detroit, not so much in scoring, but in other areas. he added three-point shooting also. >> steve: that's a name, that if you mention around here, you get a lot of oohs and aahs. they're not happy he left this team. it's a sore subject here in detroit, i can tell

>> steve: get connected to wizards basketball this season. tickets for the remaining home games are on sale now. don't miss the action when the wizards take on the magic. that will be tomorrow night. the get your tickets today. on the strength of richard hamilton's shooting and

passing, the pistons have take an six-point advantage here. >> phil: we talked about his ability to continue to improve. he's always been an excellent mid-range shooter. he does a good job of moving his man around. he's add making passes like that one to prince. >> steve: this year was the fifth straight year that relationship "rip" was not selected as an all-star. >> phil: he's had 27 games this >> steve: miller runs into trouble. here's hamilton. oh, my goodness. washington just committed they're third turnover of the

night. miller, he'll take the jumper and hit nothing but net. it's his 10th year from the university of florida. and the steal after one of the guys went down. thornton draws a foul, it's an bynum. al will shoot two. >> phil: thornton handled this ball really nicely. this is what i'm talking about, moving without the ball. that time it was a little too sharp. his footing went down. thornton had some good handles on that ball. he forced bynum to have to reach and grab. >> steve: thornton makes the

first free throw. he came from the clippers, february 17. wizards also get a first-round pick from cleveland next year in that deal. i say next year, i mean this summer. now some defense on jerebko. there's five minutes to play, 1st quarter. tayshaun, a little bit short. he chases it down and saves it nicely to jerebko. "rip" off the three, inside pass too high. knocked out of bounds,

washington ball. >> phil: one of the wizards was the last to touch that. >> steve: pistons with their second turnover of the game. they're 10th in the league in that category. blatche, short jumper, couldn't get it to fall. jerebko going all the way. nice bounce pass, it's knocked out of bounds by washington. "rip" will get singleton into the game. >> phil: let's take a look at this last play. jerebko, no one's stopping him. he take it is all the way down. >> steve: well, he still had an

easy 2. >> phil: he started to pass. maxiell, one time this year, not getting very much playing time. he's making the most of it. >> steve: here's quinton ross for the open jumper, couldn't knock it down. kept alive nicely by maxiell. good pass to maxiell for the short jumper. and detroit leads by 8. earl

boykins comes in. foul called on jerebko, tried to stop blatche. not many teams have been able to do that since the all-star break. andray has had some tremendous numbers. >> phil: he had his third 30- point game last night against atlanta. you mentioned before, five times he's had games of at least 25 points and at least 10 rebounds. >> steve: only one other guy in the league has done that since the break and that's dwight howard. the lead has grown to 10 at flip saundres gets boykins into the play. 2:40 to play, 1st quarter.

thornton stepped on the line. that will be turnover number 5. it's been slow-going for the wizards in the last four minutes. they've been outscored 12-4. timeout here at he p mal th ♪ [ ma lf torie the [ ad a i'a flke arfly stin a b ♪ f floa a bly. fg liee. fgonnt liutte ing bee ♪ f stin a.. stin a b ♪ womalf torie e g. n #2 thaght.

>> steve: here in the 1st quarter at the palace in auburn

hills. >> phil: this detroit team has made the most of it, scoring on each and every turnover. bynum, over to hamilton who's been nearly perfect. that time blatche was trying to make the pass out of a double team. over the last 7 games coming into this game, washington committing 126 turnovers and that led to 143 points. that's 43 more points they've given up to their opponents. they have to do a better job of protecting the ball. >> steve: flip saundres told andray, look, you don't have to try to make the big play every time. try to be a little bit more judicious with your passing and

not commit those turnovers. he had 7 last night. >> phil: you have to accept the defenders you're playing against. hamilton just not missing. >> steve: he's the only detroit starter who has not scored but he now has 8 assists on the 12 made field goals and the team overall has 11 assists on 12 field goals. detroit really passing that ball beautifully and bynum with 8 assists in the quarter. >> phil: he's going towards his career his which he had a couple weeks ago, 14 assists. he's an explosive scorer too. i remember the game he had last year, 32-point game. he had 22 points in the 4th

quarter which is a pistons record. >> steve: wow. rodney stuckey, who was involved in the incident where he was forced to leave the game against cleveland on march 5 in the 3rd quarter. it was a very scary situation. fortunately, he has been checked out by three different cardiologists, none of whom found any heart problems. he has been cleared to resume exercising. >> phil: you try to figure out why he had this episode and you

>> steve: come cast sportsnet coverage being brought to you by sony pictures the bounty hunter, in theaters march 13. and by chevy dealers. >> steve: well n the 1st quarter, the pistons missed five of their first 17 shots. then they missed the last four of the quarter. washington has closed it to within four. morgan franklin pivotal play of that 1st quarter. >> phil: some call him the

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>> steve: time to revisit our trivia question here tonight brought to you by mcdonalds. ben wallace leads the active undraft players, who holds the record for undraft players since the two leagues merged? >> avery johnson? >> steve: you either saw it or someone tipped you off. >> phil: my good friend is not here to give me those very helpful hints. it wasn't spiderman. >> steve: pistons miss nine straight field goals over two quarters. since then, they've made five of their last six. the wizards in this quarter are

just 2-13 from the field. >> phil: they've been sadly outrebounded. >> steve: pretty move by andray blatche as he could not be stopped by villanueva and the lead is 9. another jumper knocked down. he played all five years here. they picked him back in 2005. here's mcgee inside, and the wizards turn over. >> phil: i don't know if that pass was for him. maybe it was for thornton. >> steve: shooting 54.5% from

the field. mcgee gets it. blatche inside to thornton, picks it up, no good. mcgee battles. thornton trying to get it. villanueva has it. picked off. thornton inside, lays it up and in. nicely done. >> phil: >> phil: he has great elevation. >> steve: he's come to washington with a lot of spring in his step. he can really leap. the wizards come up with two in transition. with 4:45 to go in the half, it's a 42-33 detroit lead. they'll have the ball when we come back. n: people as altime

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here's chuck robertson. a lot of people don't know this, dave was the mvp of the all-star game. >> steve: welland up, back to blatche with a bad pass. picked off, and a foul by randy foye. >> phil: i think they've added a couple other players on the

floor here. >> steve: number retires, hanging from the rafters. we normally get together with dave when we come to town. the last time we were here, we could barely get to him. he had security guys all over him. >> phil: he started to take up the game of golf too. >> steve: good. natural athlete, i wouldn't doubt he'd be good at it. it's 44-33. detroit leads in an unproductive 2nd quarter. they've had 8 turnovers.

there's turnover number 9. beautiful, behind-the-back pass for rick hamilton. largest lead of the night, 13 points for detroit. foye, for miller, swinging for blatche. good detroit defense, washington with nowhere to go. two seconds to shoot, miller fairs and misses on a long jumper. "rip" with a long shot, no good. blatche, the rebound. coming up on three no, i didn't go, 1st half. al thornton inside for miller,

rejected. bynum the other way. a foul will be called, or is it a goal tending? basket interference on detroit, and wizards will get the ball. now he's saying, hold on a second. it's basket interference on washington. they'll score the field goal. >> phil: let's take hand is that? >> steve: thornton. >> phil: that was al thornton. good call. one official thought it was jerebko. >> steve: here is randy foye for three. foyein transition, the wizards

are a step late, the foul on mike miller. >> phil: this the league where you don't have the opportunity after mas with yets after made baskets to pat yourself on the back. you've got to get back in there. >> steve: the pistons have suffered a 13-game losing streak which they snapped against the wizards. the 13 in a row is their longest streak. hamilton scores again. richard hamilton is 8-12 from the field. >> phil: he's the one that forced the last turnover.

>> steve: thornton is rejected. pistons the other way, three-on- two. alley-oop, knocked out of bounds. it will be washington ball. they say thornton was the last to touch it. >> phil: here's that block by maxiell. nice move by thornton. maxiell has enough time. he has those long armed, able to get up and reject that attempt. >> steve: javale mcgee, hit up and in by blatche. andray blatche, 11 points and 5 rebounds now. he's 5-9 from the field. thornton will shoot it and rim

it. miller tried to save it. knocked out of bounds by maxiell, washington ball. john kuester's team, he became head coach on july 9. they made the playoffs last year but were eliminated by levin. >> phil: it was the first time in seven years. >> steve: that was the longest active streak in the east. here's "rip" for three, no good. blatche trying to save it, it's kept alive but a foul will be called on richard hamilton with mcgee trying to bring it up the

court. just the 2nd team foul. coming up at half-time, bill sits down with javale mcgee to talk to the 2nd year star from nevada, an emerging young star, who had 8 dunks against atlanta last night. the most ever by a wizards, at least in the last 10 years. >> phil: understand that they've got to be aware of his presence. they go to take shots around the basket. >> steve: 13-point lead for detroit. they've led by as many as 17. washington trailed after 1:20.

one second difference, game and shot clock. bynum is fouled by mcgee. are they going to count that basket? yes, they will. >> phil: you want to try and avoid t kind of

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>> steve: welcome back. we're here at halftime for the pistons, wizards game. my special guest here is javale mcgee. you're coming off your best

scoring game last night, 20 points. you had a whole bunch of dunks and you really looked good. >> yeah, it was a great game, but i felt good. we didn't come out with the win so i was a little disappointed. >> what do you try to do every game? what are some of the things banks is trying to work with you on? >> just staying strong on the post, being patient. working on my jump hooks. >> i noticed you get pretty hyped up when you get yourself a nice dunk or a nice block. does that kind of excite you? >> it definitely does, especially in a hard game. if we're down a big number, i feel like it doesn't matter. if it's in the midst of the game, i feel like that's a good thing. >> i know flip has talked to you as well as far as what you

can bring to this team. talk about your shot-blocking skills and scoring inside. >> i feel like it helps tremendously. it's an important thing to win the game. if i'm able to stop that, i feel like that's another chance fortous win the game. >> you had two seasons early on getting spotty time. you started the last 11 games. how do you prepare for these games now and what do you look back on as far as what you were watching from the bench? >> from the bench, the pregame warmups war lot harder because the playing time was sparing. now that you flow you're going to play, you lighten up a little bit. you still work out hard. from the bench, i saw a little less energy. now i feel like i bring energy. >> thanks for joining us. good luck the rest of the season and the rest of this half. >> thank you.

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halftime continues in detroit where the pistons and wizards are meeting for the fourth and final time this season. at the intermission it is detroit by 16, 56-40. it's great to be back at the palace. nothing funny about that first half for washington. detroit started hot, "rip" hamilton couldn't miss. he finished that half with 16 points. >> phil: as a team they shot 54%. you've got to get that down under 40% shooting. it's a bad combination. >> steve: rebounding, the wizards were outrebounded by 10. detroit passing the ball

beautifully. they assisted on all but five shots they made. >> phil: good ball movement. tell you what, rich hamilton got this team off. he made his first four shots. they found him quite often. he was setting up teammates. boy, the defense falling asleep there. you see "rip" getting the pass off of mike miller. i thought andray was trying to make passes inside. you see detroit making every shot a difficult one. a great play there by thornton. but too for a and few between. 54% to 35%, washington catching him well from the free throw

line. there's a huge discrepancy in rebounds. bynum had 10 of those 18 assists. >> steve: 18 on 23 made field goals. mike miller didn't have his shooting touch. they've made every shot difficult. when you come out here in the 2nd half, you've got to try to knuckle down. >> phil: we know there's no safe lead in this league. you've got to whittle it away. you have to protect the basketball and work harder defensively. get their shooting percentage down. make them miss some shots and turn the ball over. there's only one turnover difference. >> steve: it was a huge difference last night where atlanta scored 32 points off of washington's mistakes. tonight detroit has 18 off of washington's turnovers. it's a 16-point pistons eaat

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coverage of wizards basketball is being brought to you by toyota. visit buytoyota.com. and by corona. kick back and relax. >> steve: we're set to start the 3rd quarter here in auburn hills, michigan. the pistons lead the wizards.

washington trying to snap a five-game losing streak and andray blatche in that first half of play with 11 points. >> phil: i like the way he was trying to get inside. he's trying to do some work. there's been a swarm in detroit defense that's made things difficult. >> steve: wizards shoot just 35% from the field in that 1st half. every starter scored for detroit including jason jason maxiell. >> phil: he has great timing, great

cleveland. it will be difficult. >> steve: morgan franklin, pivotal play. >> phil: fouled by javale mcgee. >> steve: washington with a record of 21 wins, 41 losses. this time last season after they had played 62 games, the wizards had won 14 and finished with 19 on the year. they've been stuck on 21 for five straight games. meantime, detroit has assured themselves a losing season. the last time they did that was

1993. so we're up and away here in the 3rd. let's see if washington can bounce back. maxiell, the jumper, no good. knocked away by jerebko, it will be washington ball. wizards have lost five straight games overall to this team, four in a row here after the the palace. wizards last win was january 26 of' 07. here's blatche inside. it looked harder than it should have. >> phil: prince was there to bother him. >> steve: jerebko left alone, comes up short.

jerebko rolls it in. jonas jerebko, the rookie from sweden. he played the last two seasons in italy. here's foye, back to thornton. foye inside, lost it. they called a foul. it's on bynum. james singleton checking in with for washington. he'll replace mcgee. randy foye was shooting, so he'll go to the line for the first time in this game. he's the 6th best free throw shooter in the league at just under 90%. he's been a nice player for washington. this is his first season coming with miller from minnesota on draft day after three years

with the t-wolves. he averaged 16 points with them. >> phil: at one point, he was number one in the league with free throw percentage. >> steve: six seconds to shoot. jerebko with foye on him. the hook shot, no good. foye got hit in the side of the head. blatche for the jumper, a

little strong. maxiell and hamilton gather it. pistons average 93 points a game. only new jersey averages more points a game. miller drops it in. they beat the wizards the first time these teams met in washington. they beat them again in december and won the last game by 9 january 12 at verizon center. too strong for jerebko and they turn it over. >> phil: bynum is trying to move in on his career best of 14 assists. >> steve: foye for a long three, good. and timeout by john kuester.

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>> steve: stay connected to the home team with the wizards three-point play pack. each pack includes tickets to the wizards home games. don't miss the action.

randy foye, three point shot has cut the pistons lead to 11. john kuester, who played his college basketball four seasons at carolina, took a timeout. we take a look at the toyota league leaders. javale mcgee, this month, is first in the nba with 17 dunks. he had 8 of them last night against atlanta. >> phil: doubled his number last night. also, in the top five in blocks. if you look he averages a little over 5 blocks per game.

>> steve: singleton kicks one out and that will be a turnover. any idea who the opponents high total is against the wizards team in dunks? take a wild guess. the jumper is a little short. 8:20 to go, 3rd quarter. we'll be with you tomorrow night against the magic. foye will try again. a loose ball foul on detroit. it's on bynum, his third

personal, second on the team. there's john kuester, who has spent over 14 years as a coach in the nba assisting in boston, philly, and cleveland. in philly he helped them. thornton drives on a short jumper, good. that was his last team. he also played with kansas city and denver. a lot of people don't realize that's where you wound up after your career with the bullets. here's thornton inside, gets muscled by prince, no call.

it's picked up and kept alive. >> phil: i can't believe there was no call. >> steve: alley-oop, and he scored. >> phil: why was there no foul? >> steve: the wizards have cut it to 9. prince calmed for traveling. that's their 11th turnover. >> phil: that time they forced a little indecisiveness from prince. he had to get it off quickly. he lobs it to thornton. thornton, off the glass just before time expires. >> steve: see if the wizards can't cut even further into this lead. here's blatche, open for the jumper, a little strong.

bynum to jerebko, slams it in. >> phil: he's a high-energy player. >> steve: knocked out of bounds, washington ball with eight to shoot. >> steve: foye tried to chase it down. foye comes up with it, prince is fouled by foye. >> phil: sometimes the most simple thing is the most

difficult. he was trying to inbound that pass. he was well over foye's head. that leads to this turnover. unfortunately that layup didn't go in for tayshaun. >> steve: in his 8th year from kentucky with a ruptured disk in his lower back. >> phil: they were talking earlier that he might have to have back surgery. i noticed his minutes over the last four or five games are all around 38 minutes. >> steve: he is a resilient guy. once you start messing with that back, he had a consecutive game playing streak of 497. that was snapped in early november. jerebko with another slam.

>> phil: that's off of a turnover. that's washington's 13th turnover. >> steve: four unanswered for detroit after the wizards cut it to nine. flip saundres will need a timeout. six unanswered points after the wizards cut it to nine. that's the closest they've been in a while. that gets the crowd going. the pistons are up by 15.

>> steve: wizards got to within 9, but here in the 3rd quarter, detroit has been out and running. bynum and jerebko have had a couple slams. >> phil: they have 21 fast- break points and six of them have come on the last three possessions. that's taken that lead up to 16. >> steve: checking the d.c. lottery league standings. back-to-back louding seasons, we mentioned detroit has assured themselves of a losing season. the team the wizards face

monday, the utah jazz, haven't had back-to-back losing seasons for a long time. >> phil: you've got some teams that have gotten some high quality players. you saw the suns and the spurs with tim dunken and they've been able to sustain that high- level of play. >> steve: john kuester who helped carolina win a couple of titles. back in 1977, carolina went to the ncaa championship games. in that game, he was voted the best defensive player on the squad. he was mvp of the acc tournament of that season. he's a native of richmond,

virginia. "rip" missed the slam. it was knocked away, gets it back. >> phil: just a great back- board play there. he's looking at his fingers. >> steve: 13 points for blatche with 7 rebounds. thornton leads the team with 16 points. into the corner, and thornton pulls down. his 5th rebound of the game. coming up on 4 minutes to go. thornton driving and his progress is impeded. nice pass by blatche to singleton. >> phil: he gets the ball there, he knows what to do with it. >> steve: again, the wizards

have cut it to 9. 66-57. and they get the rebound with a chance to slice even further into this lead. a foul called on detroit. it's on jerebko. >> phil: he and singleton have been going at it down in that area. "rip" couldn't flush it. andray blatche, able to handle the ball on the break, finish at the rim. he comes right back after this. beautiful dish to singleton.

>> steve: singleton is there, that's rejected. it will be a goal tending charge. the wizards have cut the lead to 7. >> phil: that's a terrific play. singleton with his 3rd offensive rebound. that ball was over the cylinder. >> steve: hanging jumper. 13 for tayshaun prince. here's thornton with a pull-up jumper, a little strong. gordon pulls up and scores a 3.

>> phil: washington had that run and then they sat around. >> steve: boy, it sounds like a sell-out crowd in here. miller answers with a 3. they had a crowd announced of 16,000 here against utah. from all descriptions, it was much, much smaller than that. by the end of the game, it was virtually empty. bynum underneath jerebko. singleton the rebound. here's mike again, underneath blatche, spins inside, a jumper, no good. the rebound to jerebko.

jerebko goes to the line and bynum just picked up his 13th assist of the game. >> phil: i mentioned earlier that jerebko and singleton have been going at it hard. finally, singleton with the foul. there were some exchanged words after that. let's see what happens. actually, that could have been taunting because jerebko said something to singleton. >> steve: it's getting a little heated here. the players are instructed to separate. i think a technical foul has been called on jerebko. >> phil: that's the taunting we saw on the replay. he won the battle there but then turned around and said something to singleton. the tempers have been on the

rise between the two of them. they've had a number of times going against each other. >> steve: boykins makes the technical free throw and now will come to the other end where jerebko will try to complete a three-point play. jerebko with 12 points. richard hamilton has 18 tonight. he started 6-7 from the field. jerebko misses the free throw. he nearly kept it alive. it will be a washington ball. >> phil: he misses that one, but nearly ran it down. those are the kind of plays.

>> steve: he can't hang on to the ball. he'll turn over for the 14th time tonight. great pass from bynum, inside to maxiell. that was slight of hand by will bynum who has just tied his career high with 14 assists. >> phil: it was a nice, neat pass. use the pick and find that passing lane just so quickly. it started by maxiell setting the hard pick, forcing the big

mansion mcgee to come off of him. >> steve: mcgee up high, his third rebound. pistons have a foul to give. underneath thornton, maxiell pulls it down. give him nine rebounds and 11 points. three sec difference between the game and shot clock. detroit by 12. bynum with a nice crossover, doesn't get much better than that. boykins and bynum went up.

that ends the 3rd quarter. will bynum with his 2nd field goal a moment ago, but he has tied a career high with 14 assists. he is leading the detroit charge right now after the wizards got as close at 7 on

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wizards trail with 8:28 to play in regulation. there's rodney stuckey. here's the situation. a week ago in cleveland in the 3rd quarter, stuckey had just come out of the game. he appeared to be okay. when they went to the bench, you can see he's embracing one of the trainers. thenning not sustain and had to be taken out on a stretcher. he's been to three different cardiologists now. nobody could find any problems with his heart. he's been cleared to resume exercise. >> phil: i remember seeing parts of that game. in fact, after the game, they were playing the cavaliers. players from both teams got around center court to say a prayer. we hope the best for him. they were all in the dark at that time. good to hear that he checked out okay. >> steve: he's in his third

year, just 23 years old. this season, 35th in the league in scoring at over 17 points a game. >> phil: he played in every game, played and started. he missed the last two. >> steve: the season before last, he broke his hand against the wizards in a preseason game. he missed the first 25 games of the year. wizards down 81-67. singleton, nice pass to blatche. >> phil: blatche delivered the pass to james earlier in that 3rd quarter. now blatche returns the favor. >> steve: orlando coming to washington tomorrow, third game in as many nights. these guys are young, but no team in the league has played

three straight games this year. >> phil: i think miller hits the nail on the head. it's unusual for that to happen. they're doing something they love to do. they get home tonight, get some rest, drink some water and get yourself mentally repaired to play. >> steve: nice fade away jumper by blatche. >> phil: you had a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call to get to that next game. rick was talking about when he played with the bullets. hope is for a away from the airport, he to get up pretty

early to get to that plane. >> steve: another nice pass, single ton unable to finish. the officials don't travel on charter planes. they have to get up early the next morning and fly out. >> phil: you go what you got to do. singleton couldn't convert, but, you know, he keeps his head on the floor. i think sometimes he underestimates the quickness of his opponents. you saw the problems he had on the last couple games with the turnovers. he's already committed several tonight. >> steve: these are the first washington three throws since the 3rd quarter.

in >> phil: you know what? players adjusted. they did what they had to do and got used to it. >> steve: that was in 1998-99. tayshaun connects on a 3- pointer. that's his 17th this season. rich has 18 points tonight. actually, his 18th on the year now. blatche on a fading shot. jerebko pulls it down. rebound number 8 for him. he's having a terrific game. >> phil: he's a hustle player. he knows his role. >> steve: the foul is called on

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play. he's playing in his 29th nba game his that injury to his knee in 2007. >> phil: he handled it nicely. >> steve: it will take him a while to get in rhythm even though he's played recently. he's in oklahoma city. >> phil: the first few years he

played, he got some experience. it would be wise to keep him around and see how he continues to develop and get strong, work out during the summer. we don't know what's going to happen over the summer, who they're going to bring in, who they're going to add back. >> steve: along the uncertainty of gilbert arenas. he has four years left on his contract. gilbert is suspended for the remappedder of the season. he faced charges on march 27 on weapons possession. here's alonzo gee, nice move. alonzo gee, who played four

years at alabama, was not drafted last year. he had a nice pick in the d- league. he had a season high of 34 points. >> phil: they're working on trying to get bynum those 20 assists. that was his 19th. >> steve: blatche on a fading jumper. andray adds to his total, now 23 points and 9 rebounds. under 2 minutes to play here in this one. and andray blatche has the double-double. >> phil: that's his 10th on the

year. >> steve: 1:30 to play, pistons set to improve to 23 and 23-42. a pass to gordon, but he's called for traveling. >> phil: bangor ton wizards will get it back but they're down 98-83.

>> steve: it was nip and tuck early. thornton with 16 points. he's made all six of his free throws. hamilton started on fire. he went 6-9 in the first. once again, washington's turnovers and points off of turnovers have really hurt. last night they allowed atlanta 32 points off of the turnovers. the pistons lead it. the wizards look like they were going to climb back into this thing. they cut it to 7 in the 3rd. but they were outscore it had 11-4 to close out the period. detroit led after the 3rd. they have increased that lead

here now. >> phil: they've at least raised their shooting percentage above 40. but detroit has been at or above 50% throughout the whole game. >> steve: wizards try to snap a five-game losing streak. it looks like it's going to extend to 6. here's alonzo gee, nice play. alonzo gee, who the wizards signed to a 10-day contract sunday. he's the 21st player called up from the d-league this season. under a minute to go. bynum, penetrates. summers, a jumper, missed it, and a loose ball foul on shaun livingston. trying to get bynum that 20th assist. the last player in detroit with 20 assists in a game, i believe, was isaiah thomas. >> phil: it's a fun position to

be in if you're shooter because that means you've got the green light all the way. bynum is the one passing you the ball. >> steve: it was isaiah thomas in 1985. bynum is right there at 19, a new career-high for him. >> phil: he's another one of those players undrafted. i think he found a home here. >> steve: here's gee, how about that! that brought a foul. alonzo gee, the rookie, who the

wizards just signed, showed some really impressive lashing. >> phil: last night, he had only two points, but those were pretty spectacular. a jump, just like the one we just saw. he tried to make an impression there. >> steve: here he is again, makes a move on villanueva. he was fouled on the play. gee, with 6 points on three of four shooting, is headed to the freethrow line. from palm beach, florida. he's 22 years old. he's got 51% from the field in

the d-league. >> phil: he's got an air ball there. he got a good kick out of that. >> steve: his free throw shooting needs a little work. there's time for that. here's gordon at the buzzer. >> phil: he got it. >> steve: with 3.2 seconds to play. that will not count and the detroit pistons for the first time since the 2004-2005 season have swept the wizards in a season series four straight games. 101-87 is your final tonight. glen. >> phil: hamilton started it off, but bynum carried them throughout the night. all of his teammates were pulling for him trying to get

those 20 assists. >> steve: the pistons improve while washington suffers its sixth consecutive loss. they fall to 21-42 overall. wizards lose here to the pistons tonight, 101-87. scored led by blatche with 23. thornton had 16 and miller had 10. detroit led in scoring by jonas jerebko, "rip" hamilton and gordon. a career-high 20 assists for will bynum. we invite you to join us for our next telecast tomorrow where the wizards host the magic. coverage begins at 6:30. wishing you a pleasant evening from detroit.

we'll see you tomorrow night in washington. we now interrupt this program for breaking news in los angeles. >> eight years ago i came from cleveland,

we try to be as fair as possible. possible.

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>> number 40. >> he's not the guy that you wonder if he cares. he's the guy that hurts so much when things don't go the way he wants. that's what makes him an mvp of this league. just the fact that he's relentless. he's an example not just to kid who is might play basketball, but an example of every one of

us and our professions and our lives. you don't have to fit a certain role and fit a model, but if you work hard enough and care enough anything is possible. you made so many things possible for me and the city. i'm sorry for getting emotional about it, but that's -- thank you. >> number 39. are it's so much for me. as a player. it hurts. it hurts. it hurts. you put it all on the line. it's disappointing. i wanted to win more for him than me. he deserved to be a champion. >> hewe e sowl on ght fo ofd,iti

p. t arnded an p wn ohe it's long ugh. it good heisseo th right! ronds s ded a47-yard field goal that would have won the super bowl for the bills. >> these fans took a ceremonial plunge in the subzero temperatures to dull their pain. for many it wouldn't be dulled that quickly. >> i cried. i felt really bad. >> number 37. >> under 10. backdoor!

they have to watch the line! they have pulled the upset! >> number 36. >> up 25 and blowing them away. all of a sudden they played poorly. kevin garnet is getting on the guys trying to get into the huddle. he was giving them a little bit of the business and he could be a tough teammate to be tough on the guys. davis did not particularly care for the words of garnet. you can tell he was upset. garnet doesn't mince words. sometimes it's tough. you can bet that will be

addressed in the locker room. >> number 35. >> nba champion, how does that sound? >> i'm so hyped right now. anything is possible. anything's possible! >> to everybody in chicago, seeing everybody and my mama, on top of the world. on top of the world. >> number 34. >> coming to new york was a dream like i said that i thought would never happen. i came here wanting to win the

stanley cup. what i got was a life experience i never -- retiring was a tough decision, but a decision i knew was the right thing to do at the right time. i have been honored to have the opportunity to play in new york in the most famous arena in the world and have the best fans in the world behind me and will never forget the 10 years that i was able to be and have the honor to be the captain of the new york rangers. >> number 33. >> words can't describe those kinds of kids and what they mean to me. even right now in the losing locker room, i feel like the luckiest coach in america. >> understandably you didn't want to address the issue during the week that many people with the game over want to know what your level of interest is in the

north carolina job. >> i couldn't give a flip about what they wanted. as a human being, all those people are not sensitive. >> they offered you the job, would you take it? >> haven't thought about it for one second. the guy that told you you have to ask that question. as a journalist, it's fine, but as a human being it's not nice. it's not sensitive and i have to think in tough times people should be more sensitive. i could give a [ bleep ] about that right now. i have 13 kids in that locker room that i love. >> number 32. >> i have two sons. michael is 10 and elijah is 8. that's my heart. i have my struggles. i made bad decisions.

whatever you do, whatever you do, don't let me mess this up. help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than i. help me raise them for their kids so that they could be a better father than i. i tell you guys to always do the right thing. that's what a hall of famer is. >> number 31. >> i never thought i would be presenting a monumental award such as this. i am humbled that the nfl would allow me to do so. with that, to accept the award, i present the greatest mom i have ever known, sarah white.

>> today is probably the hardest thing i have done in my life. it's not about sarah white. it's about reggie white. as i was thinking about what reggie would say, that's the hardest part even though we have been knowing each other and friends for 25 years. there is no justice in again. >> i don't think i got anything left to give. that's it.ssssssssssssssssssssss

you are watching best damn's top 50 emotional moments in sports. number 30. >> what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is i have found. over the last 21 years, i have found loyalty, you have proved

to me on the court and also in life, i found inspiration you have had times in my lowest moments and i found generosity. you have given me your shoulder to stand on to reach for my dreams. dreams i could never reach without you. over 21 years, i will take the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. thank you. >> number 29. >> they throw it to him and he holds on. we don't want to make him get it over half court. and a steal! farmar! last chance! >> unbelievable! >> what a game! what a game! >> unbelievable!

>> unbelievable! >> are you kidding me? after being down by 17, heart break city! >> he's done with the catch! and that's it. ucla! to beat gonzaga 73-71 after being down by 17! >> number 28. >> i want to also thank my wife stacy for supporting me. my children isabella and

elizabeth. without them it would be hard it get through times like these. i appreciate their support. to go there and make my best, make the playoffs and win that cup so i can bring it down here. that's where my heart is. >> number 27. >> i got hit in the back of the head. i went to dive on the ball and got hit in the back of the head. the next thing i know, the fans were cheering when i was on the field hurt. to be honest with you, they got their own opinion. if they don't like me -- i have been here going on four years now and waited on the line for this team and this city and for

them to boo me in my home state is say joke. it's a [ bleep ] joke. i worked my [ bleep ] off and it's hard to take. it is. i don't know. that's not what i wanted to be. >> number 26. >> i will not quit. i want to coach here. i should be the coach here. i will tell you that right now. i should be. i'm sorry. let's go. >> number 25.

>> the head coach today decided to step down. let's go to the phone lines. dave, you are up first. go ahead, dave. >> go ahead afternoon, all. i have been -- i heard about this around noon and i have been torn up sings i heard it. i am not trying to defend them, but i think maybe it was a bit jumping the gun and he's the best that we could do. now i think the whole program is in shambles. i don't know what to do. god. >> thanks for calling in. >> it is with a great amount of shame that i stand before you and tell you that i have betrayed your trust. i plead guilty to two counts of making false statements to federal agents.

making these false statements to federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do. i want to you know i have been dishonest. i let my country done and let myself down. >> i want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions. i hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. >> number 23. ♪

>> number 22. >> this is my last game. i want to remember it. i will miss these guys. miss the game. but i wanted to let them know that. i didn't plan on doing this either. put me on the spot. love to play the game and love these guys. love to compete. it just shows. what a great way to go out. >> number 21.

>> i promised i wouldn't get emotional. it's never easy. i like to think that the packers will give me an opportunity as well. i hope that every penny i hope every penny they know is money well spent. i have given everything i can give to this organization to the game of football. i don't think i got anything left to give. that's it. >> plenty ofmo