October 31, 2004
Season Opener
Arenas leads the Wizards to success
vs.
Memphis 93 - - - - -
Washington 98
[
Box Score ]
The beginning of the new season is always tough and we could see that
right away. Even though Memphis looked to go for the W right away they
couldn't stop no. 0. The grizzlies dominated the offensive boards first 7
minutes and took the 17-10 lead. If it hadn't been for Anthony Peeler,
the game would have been totally different. He totally dominated the end of
the first quarter and was fouled on a threepointer just 1.1 seconds before
the period ending buzzer. With those FTs Washington was back in
the game.
During the second period Gilbert Arenas Stepped up and gave some
amazing passes and made things happen. The Wizards managed to pull
off 4 consecutive baskets with a trip to the line. At the other end Irishman
Pau Gasol was tearing the opposite defense apart, keeping the Gs ahead.
At the half Pau and Arenas were the key players of their teams. Pau
with 11pts and 8rebs, Gilbert with 14pts, 4rebs and 4asts. Mike Miller was
also in a groove, nailing 6/9 from the field.
The second half didn't bring any significant changes and the teams continued
the close race. Washington could have taken the lead with all those
foul shots, but they just couldn't sink them from the charity stripe. The game turned
in the 4th period when Pau Gasol was fouled by Arenas so hard that he had to
call it a night. So 7.08 to play and Gasol was out of the game with a back injury.
The game was even until the clock showed 4 minutes to go. The score was
tied at 80 and during the next minutes Wizards took the lead and held it to
the end. The 6th foul by arenas with 1.32 remaining gave the Grizzlies an
opportunity but they couldn't take it. Jamison and Peeler secured the W with
some clutch 3-pointers and the game was over.
Later at the press conference E. Jordan said he was happy with the result.
"Even though we couldn't nail the easiest shots in this game, the FREEthrows,
I'm satisfied. We deserved to win." Memphis point guard
Jason Williams told us that they have played some rough games and are
currently not on the right track. "Some of that is obviously my fault too, as
you could see I had some trouble to guard Gilbert. He was too good for me
tonight. Hopefully we will learn from our mistakes and develop our game."
Ingame Photos
G. Arenas made some impossible shots go down. Pau and Swift were dominating the boards.
The Wizards had a hard time with freethrows.