76ers 92 wizards 84
1/30/2013 - Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
ESPN Boxscore
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                       AT                            

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 FM/1500 AM
Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor

(Photo by Joe Glorioso * Wizards Extreme)

Fresh off of a win against the Chicago Bulls, the Wizards came into the Verizon Center on Monday night looking for some revenge against the Sacramento Kings.

Instead, they found themselves in a predicament they’ve known all too well.

After a somewhat lethargic, yet well played first half (mostly sparked by Emeka Okafor’s dominance on the boards and scoring), the Wizards found themselves playing like the team they were before John Wall came back.

Here are some key mishaps from the Kings loss that deserve some attention:

Up until a few weeks ago, losing close games, or the coined term "moral victories" was widely acceptable amongst the Wizards faithful. Considering all the backend turmoil caused by upper management over recent seasons, watching the Wizards perform with effort and competence for 40+ minutes a game had become a luxury. Yes, it’s sad, but very true.

However, the mind frame of fans and players alike has changed since their godly emergence. Failure to close out games properly due to costly turnovers, lapses on defense and missed opportunities has begun to sting just a little harder for these reformed Wizards and it’s showing in their post-game interviews. John Wall and Brad Beal share their sentiments following last night’s heartbreaker vs. Sacramento.

"Enough is enough. We gotta start closing out games." -- Bradley Beal

"We know we're in situations where we can win these games, and we have the talent to do it." -- John Wall

Videography/editing done by  Mike Andrews & Abdullah Sharif

kings 96 wizards 94
1/28/2013 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
ESPN Boxscore
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(Photo by Joe Glorioso * Wizards Extreme)

                         AT            

Monday, January 28th, 2013
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 FM/1500 AM
Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor

(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
With Saturday night’s win over Chicago, the Wizards are miraculously one of the hottest teams in the NBA, going 7-3 in their past ten games. The return of John Wall is probably the most important factor in this recent hot streak, but his ability to improve everyone on this team is probably the most impressive.

The two most notable performers, in my opinion, for the Wizards since John's return:

Emeka Okafor: For the first two months of the season, I was calling for his head. He looked awful on the floor and was showing no signs of life in the box score. Fast forward to Wall’s return and he’s averaging a double-double. He’s sinking his jumper (which I still can’t give myself the courage to approve of it), he’s one of the most aggressive defenders in the paint on the team, and he looks comfortable finally. If this is the Emeka Okafor that’s going to play for the rest of the season, I’m going to have to surgically remove the foot from my mouth and rescind the many trade offers I’ve suggested for him all season.

Trevor Ariza: He’s been pretty non-existent all season from a statistical standpoint, but it’s the way he’s not showing up now that’s making a difference. His time on the floor seems to be spent on pure defensive hustle. Diving for the loose balls, smothering the offensive player, and finding the open man on the offensive end instead of throwing up brick after brick. He shut down Kyle Korver two weeks ago in an impressive win versus Atlanta and he created a problem for everyone on the Chicago roster Saturday night.

wizards 86 bulls 73
1/26/2013 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
ESPN Boxscore
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                       AT             

Saturday, January 26th, 2013
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 FM/1500 AM
Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor

wizards 114 timberwolves 101
1/25/2013 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
ESPN Boxscore
NBA.com Game Highlights


(Photo by Harry E. Walker)