[Heiks] Washington Wizards Dynasty (NBA Live 2005)

[Heiks]

June 4, 2005
Are You Ready?!?
The Finals Around the corner!


The culmination of the season has arrived. It's the time of the year when it's down
to just two teams, one from the west, one from the east. It's the time to put on your
game-face put up some wild performances Yes, it's the NBA Finals!

With the Hornets' last night victory of the duncanless Spurs in game 4 of the Western
Conference Finals we can now get ready for some real action.

The 2004-05 season has brought us many surprises. First of all the end of Lakers'
dynasty – the departure of Shaquille O'Neal. Even though Kobe did a good job,
the Lakers were only 3 games behind the 8th seed. And then there was a team that
raised from the ashes, like a phoenix. No, they weren't the Suns, the fire started in
Washington D.C. The Wizards more than doubled their winning percentage in a
single season, improving from .305 to a league leading .759. With the addition of
Antawn Jamison in the off-season the Wizards was already considered a tough
opponent. But the Wizards' GM wanted more. This resulted the arrival of 5-time
NBA champion Robert Horry and the 2004 Draft first pick Dwight Howard. The
guard duo Hughes-Arenas stepped up and nobody doubted in this team anymore.
They finished the season with a 15-game winning streak and are 9-2 in the playoffs,
do we need to say more?

The other team's story is totally different. The Hornets roster didn't change much
during the season and were just over the .500 mark, qualified for the 6th seed. Then
again the most important games are in the Playoffs and the Hornets knew that. The
strong contribution from Baron Davis (20ppg, 4rpg, 7apg, 1.5spg), Jamal Magloire
in the paint (14ppg, 11rpg, 2bpg) plus the points of David Wesley and Jamal Mash-
burn, that was all they needed! They eliminated the Timberwolves in the first round
(3-2), Dallas in the second (3-1) and now the Spurs (3-1). Sounds like a dream, doesn't
it? Remember the '99 Knicks? Well, this is the sequel.

You might think that the Hornets are in it way over their heads and this will be a sweep,
but actually the season series were tied 1-1. The first meeting between these teams may
have been a 25-point blowout by the Wizards, who had 80 points from Howard, Jamison,
Hughes and Arenas, but the Hornets didn't allow their opponent to score over 90 points in
the second game and Davis put up a 41-point game. And if you consider the fact that
Washington's Hughes and Howard are out of the Finals with injuries, the Hornets could
be the stronger team.



Antawn Jamison must step up in order to win the title.

[Fresh8]

Man I'm ready for this! Love the pics Heiks.. bring home another ring for NLSC!

[Heiks]

The Finals, Game 1
Wizards' Last Quarter Magic
Shorthanded Washington played great basketball.

-- vs.
Washington 109 - - New Orleans 89

[ Box Score ]


The Finals started off today at the MCI Center as the Washington Wizards
hosted the New Orleans Hornets. The arena was packed, everybody was
excited to see the teams that defeated the mighty Spurs and Pistons in the
Conference Finals. Washington, ofcourse, as the Regular Season winner
was the favorite at home.

The Finals were under way as Washington won the tip-off. Both of the teams
were a bit cautious, concentrating more on defense, so the score was just 6-2
for the Hornets after 5 minutes of play. But then something happened: Rodney
Rogers kept finding Baron Davis, who scored 14 points in the first quarter. The
Wizards tried to keep the gap close, but they slipped into a 7-point defeat. Sub
Juan Dixon held them in it in the last minute of the quarter by dishing out an
assist, grabbing a steal and scoring two points. New Orleans lead after one 27-24.

The Wizards' guards had a rough time keeping B-Diddy away from the hoop.
Davis scored 9 more points in the second and collected a game high 23 points
by halftime. Despite of Davis' great individual performance, the Hornets couldn't
pull away. Arenas' all-around game (6points, 3 assists, 2 steals) kept D.C. close
behind. Jamal Magloire was a powerhouse down low, he grabbed 9 rebounds in
the first 24 minutes, but New Orleans still led just by 3 points at the half.

In the first minutes of the second half you could clearly see that coach Eddie Jordan
didn't like the defense on Davis in the opening half. Arenas was pressuring Davis
24/7, at the other end Arenas scored 6 points and 5 other Washington's players scored
four. That allowed the Wizards to go ahead, but not for long. Veteran David Wesley
overplayed Hayes repetitively in the third period. His last-second three pulled the
Hornets as close as possible, the Wizards led by one at the end of third, 76-75.

With just two minutes played in the last quarter PJ Brown suffered a back injury
and had to take a seat for the rest of the game. This opened up some space under the
hoop and the Wizards used it for their own good: Washington out-rebounded New
Orleans by 11! 15-4! This allowed Jamison to score 8, Kwame Brown 7 and Gilbert
Arenas 6 points in the last quarter. Only Hornets' Baron Davis could answer with 7.
The Wizards led 93-89 with 3.45 on the clock, but to make it absolutely sure they
ended the game with a wild 16-0 run. The home crowd was out of it's mind, the whole
arena was wild as Washington took the 1-0 series lead with a 20-point victory,
winning the last period 33-14.

The best scorers were New Orleans' Baron Davis with 32 and David Wesley with 26.
Washington's Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas scored 20 each, Arenas added
8 assists and 4 steals. Wizards' bench outscored Hornets' bench 28-13.

Player of the Game, Arenas on the victory: “Great! Couldn't feel better! We did some-
thing special here tonight, the last effort was magnificent!Baron gave us a bit of a
headache in the first half, so the coach gave me an assignment to keep him out of the
rest of the game. And so i did for the first 15 minutes (of the second half). Really
looking to advance to 2-0 in game 2!”


Ingame Photos


Jamal Magloire was giving a hard time to opponents. - - -Antawn Jamison scored a few from fast breaks.


B-Diddy found plenty of holes in Washington's defense - Kwame Brown showed that he can dunk big time!


PJ Brown Injured his back, Game 2 under question. - - - The whole Wizards' team had trouble stopping Davis.


Forward Antawn Jamison led the Washington Wizards during the 16-0 scoring streak that ended the first game

GAME NOTES:

• Washington had 22 FTs, New Orleans 4.
• New Orleans' Davis and Wesley combined 58 points.
• Hornets lost the rebounding 11-25 in the second half.
• Even though Wizards used 4 subs, the bench scored 28.
• Washington ended the game with a 16-0 run.

[Kobe101]

Good luck in your other games!

[Fresh8]

Nice! Game 2 here we go!

[Emiliano]

Man, all I can say is four words....I LOVE THIS DYNASTY!!
Its really good, Godd Luck in the Finals!!

[Heiks]

The Finals, Game 2

Hornets Tie Series
Davis and Magloire unstoppable.

- vs.
New Orleans 102 -- Washington 96

[ Box Score ]


As Game Two of the series took us to New Orleans, Hornets were expected to
perform strong in the second game of the Finals. With some ups and downs they
succeeded doing so.

Washington started from right there where they stopped in game two, they opened
with a 6-0 run. The New Orleans Arena was shocked that their team couldn't answer
in the first two minutes. After a quick timeout and a new strategy the Hornets went
off. They went ahead 12-10 and thanks to Mashburn's 9 points and Baron's 11 points
and 3 assists won the first period 28-18.

The Wizards were in a difficult situation, they had to come out of a 10 point defeat.
Guard Jarvis Hayes felt like it and he led the Wizards as they managed to tie the game
at 40 with 4 minutes to play in the first half. While Mashburn and Davis disappeared
Jamal Magloire came up big: ha scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the second
and was one of the key-players at the half with 14 points, 10 boards and a block. DC's
Kwame Brown had a great all around performance with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
and a block. Baron Davis who made only one shot during the quarter still made it big.
His 3-point attempt just before the buzzer was swatted Antawn Jamison, but the Hornets
got another chance. With just 1.8 seconds on the clock the pass went to Davis again,
who scored on the long range two-pointer that took the Hornets ahead by one, 49-48.

Despite of the shock ending of the first half the Wizards continued to put up strong
performance. They led by a little margin but they still were in control of the game.
The third period featured fierce point-by-point game, DC on top with 4-6 points.
The leaders in scoring were B-Diddy with 9 (he had already 22 points) and Gilbert
Arenas with 8 points (16 in total). The end of the third quarter gave us another
buzzer-beater. This time it was Washington's Juan Dixon who had the ball in his hands
moments before the buzzer. He didn't hesitate to put up the mid-range shot and extended
the Wizards lead to 74-69.

This had the makings of a very intense fourth period. Wizards led by just 5 points
and the Hornets were anxious to tie the series. New Orleans fought back and tied the
game on 82 with 7 minutes on the clock. Sadly this moment marked the fall of the
Wizards Hornets, led by Baron Davis' 13 last quarter points and Magloire's 8 points
and 7 rebounds, took the quarter 33-22 and won the whole game 102-96

Baron Davis was the Player of the Game with 35 points, 5 assists and two steals.
Jamal Magloire had 24 points and 19 rebounds, Mashburn supported the team with
19 points and 6 rebounds while injured PJ Brown returned with a double-double.
Washington was led by Jamison (22 points) and Arenas (21 points, 4 assists, 2 steals)

B-Diddy on his game: “This was a wonderful game. We (the starting five) had the
strength and the will to compete on another level tonight. Not every night the openers
score over 90 points. I had my share there, but still, big props to Jamals, PJ and David!
These series are so tight, that I wouldn't be surprised if the champ is decided in the
fifth game. We'll do our best to win that game. But right now we got our eyes set on
the next game.”


Ingame Photos


B-Diddy was in the groove all night long, shooting 60%. -Hayes scored 8 of his 11 points in the second quarter.


Powerforward Kwame Brown led the Wizards in the first half by making big shots, rebounding and passing


Baron Davis nailed a jumpshot right at the end buzzer of the first half and pulled Hornets ahead by one.


Arenas shot 5/8 beyond the arc. That wasn't enough - - Jamal Magloire had a spectacular double-double.

GAME NOTES:

• Washington's shooting percentages were all better than Hornets'.
• Gilbert Arenas had just 4 assists tonight, that's half of his averages.
• All Wizards who played scored atleast a field goal.
• Washington had just 2 assists in the deciding fourth quarter.
• Whashington's bench outscored New Orleans' bench 26-6!
• Hornets' starting five scored 96 points! That's 96 out of 102!

[Heiks]

Thanks guys! Enjoy the latest recap!

[Kobe101]

Dont let this lose set you back!

[Emiliano]

You'll bounce back!

[BeastOfTheEast1]

too bad they lost the playoffs and larry hughs

[nbalive744]

wat do you mean?

[BeastOfTheEast1]

I mean in real life but heiks dynasty with the wizards is awesome

[Sac-1]

great win in the first game but tough loss in the second this could be a close series....game 7....good luck in game 3

[Keo]

Wow, great dynasty. Keep it up.

[hornets_fan]

yeah man this dynasty is really good better than mine lol

[Buckley]

hornets in the finals? talk about updated rosters.......


anyways good luck in game 2. hope ur wizards win the finals

[Andrew]

Inducted October 13th, 2008.