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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wizards coach Leonard Hamilton doesn't want his players getting too excited about their longest winning streak since April 1998.
|  | | Juwan Howard, Tyrone Nesby and the Wizards celebrated their first four-game win streak in nearly three years. |
Chris Whitney scored six of his 13 points in the final 27 seconds Saturday night as Washington beat the Phoenix Suns 89-82 for its fourth victory in a row.
"This team has displayed a high level of confidence over the past three or four games," Hamilton said after the Wizards added to their two wins over Atlanta and one over Charlotte.
"I get the feeling the main goal is to win the game. There are
no hidden agendas. But we have to keep it in perspective. We're
getting better. We need to feel good about what we are doing, but
we don't need to let ourselves get too high so we lose our
perspective. We still have a lot of ground to catch up."
Despite the recent streak, the Wizards remain 23 games behind
the NBA Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia 76ers.
"We are starting to enjoy being out there and being on the court playing," said Wizards center Jahidi White, who scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. "We look forward to our games. We don't get down on ourselves and we're backing each other up. we are having a lot of fun out there lately."
Whitney's short leaner in the lane gave Washington an 83-79 lead
it never relinquished.
"Normally we have two, maybe three guys playing at a high level," said Whitney, who also had a team-high eight assists. "Now we have several guys playing at a high level, and that's what it boils down to."
Juwan Howard led Washington with 21 points and seven rebounds,
and Richard Hamilton added 12 points as the Wizards played with a
full, healthy roster for the first time since early December.
Cliff Robinson led Phoenix with 22 points, and Rodney Rogers
added 19 points and six rebounds.
"We stopped playing with the aggressiveness we had in the first
half," Robinson said. "I don't know why. That's a question that's
been asked all year."
Richard Hamilton stripped the ball from Robinson as he drove the
lane with 1:15 remaining, and Jason Kidd missed an open 3-pointer
with 40 seconds left. Rogers also missed a 3-pointer 17 seconds
later. After Whitney hit four free throws, Kidd closed the Suns'
scoring on a 3-pointer with eight seconds left.
"We just didn't make the plays at the end we had to make in
order to win," Suns coach Scott Skiles said. "I thought we tried
to play hard for the most part, but we can't let the Wizards shoot
47 percent on us."
Kidd, charged last week with hitting his wife, returned to the Suns' starting lineup and finished with 18 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.
Kidd wasn't expected to accompany the Suns on this season-high
six-game road trip. Phoenix went 1-3 without him before he rejoined
them Friday in Boston, where he had 12 points, eight rebounds and
five assists in 31 minutes off the bench. His wife, Joumana, was
among the crowd of 19,212 Saturday night.
"This is my job," Kidd said. "My wife and I thought this was
the best thing. We talked about it, and we thought this would be
the best way to get back to life as we know it."
Howard pulled the Wizards to 76-75 on a three-point play with
2:53 remaining in the game. Eighteen seconds later, Tyrone Nesby
gave Washington the lead on a dunk and added a free throw for a
three-point play.
The Wizards closed the third quarter with 6-0 run, capped by
White's slam for a 60-58 lead.
Howard hit four of his first five shots and the Wizards led
26-20 after one quarter.
Washington guards Rod Strickland and Mitch Richmond, who both
returned from injuries on Friday night in Atlanta, entered with
2:33 left in the first quarter. Strickland finished with eight
points and six assists in 22 minutes. Richmond had nine points and
three rebounds in 21 minutes.
Game notes
The Suns signed guard Elliott Perry to another 10-day
contract on Saturday. ... Suns regular starting center Jake
Tsakalidis did not dress because of a sprained right ankle. He
should be ready for Monday's game against Atlanta.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 99
Utah 86
Toronto 90
Chicago 80
Minnesota 93
Portland 80
Miami 81
Orlando 59
Houston 110
Charlotte 97
Atlanta 101
Cleveland 90
Washington 89
Phoenix 82
Detroit 108
Milwaukee 103
Denver 102
Dallas 100
Seattle 106
New Jersey 97
Sacramento 101
LA Clippers 89
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Juwan Howard Official Site
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