Washington Wizards

The Lakers can't possibly lose tonight to the Washington Wizards. Then again, everyone thought the same thing about their game against the Detroit Pistons. Instead, the Lakers lost, 88-85 in overtime. Kobe Bryant's two different masks couldn't camouflage his eight-of-26 mark from the field. Despite Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combining for 50 points, the Lakers mysteriously went away from their strengths. Metta World Peace finally came back to Earth and struggled. So did the bench, the team's transition defense and its late-game execution.

Standing by his locker after his debut with the Clippers, Nick Young stressed that there is one thing that he must do before he truly feels like a part of the team. Create a handshake. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has a special handshake that he does with each of the players before they take the court. The handshakes often include intricate dance moves, jumps and elbow bumps. Young, who was acquired by the Clippers on Thursday, was the only player who was left out of that pregame ritual on Sunday.

The Clippers acquired shooting guard Nick Young from the Washington Wizards for Brian Cook on Thursday. Cook said he was informed of the trade by Clippers' management that he would be sent to the Wizards. The Clippers have been looking for a shooting guard since Chauncey Billups suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles' tendon injury Feb. 6. Young was averaging 16.6 points per game for the Wizards this season, and he has a career average of 11.6 points over four seasons.

The Clippers acquired shooting guard Nick Young from the Washington Wizards for Brian Cook on Thursday. Cook said he was informed of the trade by Clippers' management that he would be sent to the Wizards. The Clippers have been looking for a shooting guard since Chauncey Billups suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles' tendon injury Feb. 6. Young was averaging 16.6 points per game for the Wizards this season, and he has a career average of 11.6 points over four seasons.

"I'm disappointed I never won a championship--in the pros.... That's life. You've got to move on." Patrick Ewing, who retired Tuesday after 17 NBA seasons and became an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards.

Flip Saunders has agreed to become the new coach of the Washington Wizards, with an announcement expected next week, according to an NBA executive. Saunders would succeed interim Coach Ed Tapscott, the executive told the Associated Press. The NBA suspended Boston guard Ray Allen one game without pay for elbowing Cleveland's Anderson Varejao during Sunday's game. Allen suspended

Caron Butler made a 19-foot jumper with 0.5 of a second remaining, capping the Washington Wizards' comeback from a 21-point deficit in a 92-91 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night. Washington went down by 21 in the first quarter, went ahead by nine in the fourth, lost the lead again and then came back to cap a wild win, with Butler getting 31 points and nine rebounds. -- associated press

Michael Jordan scored 10 of his 35 points in overtime as the Washington Wizards recovered after blowing a 24-point second-half lead to beat the Houston Rockets, 100-98, Thursday night. Jordan was five for six in overtime, his only miss coming in the final 10 seconds. Yao Ming got the rebound, giving the Rockets a chance to tie or win. But rather than calling timeout, Houston hurried downcourt.

WASHINGTON -- Even without Gilbert Arenas and another injured starter, the Washington Wizards never imagined they would be as bad as the franchise ever has been. So after opening 1-10 to match the worst start in team history, the Wizards fired Coach Eddie Jordan on Monday and gave director of player development Ed Tapscott his first NBA head coaching job.

The last-place Washington Wizards overcame distractions, and a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, to beat the first-place Orlando Magic, 104-97, Friday in their first home game since Gilbert Arenas' suspension after he brought guns into the team's locker room. Earlier Friday, four Wizards players, including former USC guard Nick Young, were fined $10,000 each for making fun of the situation Tuesday in a pregame stunt with Arenas. Antawn Jamison, who had 28 points Friday, told the crowd before the game that the situation was "very embarrassing" and that "being a positive role model is something we don't take lightly."

Washington -- Kobe Bryant has 20 points and the Lakers lead the Washington Wizards at halftime, 64-49, Wednesday at Verizon Center. Bryant already looks better than his dreadul eight-for-26 shooting night Tuesday in the Lakers' overtime loss to Detroit. He has made six of 13 shots and all six of his free-throw attempts as the Lakers try to improve their 6-13 road record. Pau Gasol has nine points and seven rebounds for the Lakers (23-15). The Wizards (8-29)

Reporting from Washington -- Somehow, the season just got worse for the Lakers. They surrendered a 21-point lead and completely collapsed in a 106-101 loss Wednesday to the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Kobe Bryant had 30 points but continued to misfire, making only nine of 31 shots as the Lakers fell to 6-14 on the road. Bryant made only eight of 26 shots night Tuesday in the Lakers' overtime loss to Detroit. Little-known forwards Trevor Booker (18 points, 17 rebounds)

1. The Lakers need to bring better focus against Washington. The Lakers overreacted to their signature win Sunday against the Miami Heat. They can't overreact to their 88-85 overtime loss Tuesday to the Detroit Pistons, but they need to bring sharper focus. Questionable shot selection, stagnant ball movement and poor transition defense all caught up to the Lakers, and allowed bottom-dwelling Detroit contending in a game that should've been a blowout. Even against the lowly Wizards, the Lakers can't afford to stray away from playing fundamental basketball.

The Lakers can't possibly lose tonight to the Washington Wizards. Then again, everyone thought the same thing about their game against the Detroit Pistons. Instead, the Lakers lost, 88-85 in overtime. Kobe Bryant's two different masks couldn't camouflage his eight-of-26 mark from the field. Despite Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combining for 50 points, the Lakers mysteriously went away from their strengths. Metta World Peace finally came back to Earth and struggled. So did the bench, the team's transition defense and its late-game execution.

The Clippers' game Saturday against the hapless Washington Wizards was both the end of a brutal five-game week and the start of a six-game, 10-day trip. And the easiest part of the difficult week and the softest part of this road schedule against the Wizards made for a successful ending and start for the Clippers. They dominated the Wizards in a 107-81 victory at the Verizon Center, improving their road record to 4-4. And they survived last week's schedule of five games in seven days with a 4-1 record.

Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is bringing back what's considered his worst move as a basketball executive: Kwame Brown . The Bobcats on Monday agreed on a one-year deal with Brown for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million. Agent Mark Bartelstein says Brown will sign on Tuesday. Jordan was running the Washington Wizards when he selected Brown straight out of high school with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft. The big man turned out to be a major disappointment.

Washington -- Kobe Bryant has 20 points and the Lakers lead the Washington Wizards at halftime, 64-49, Wednesday at Verizon Center. Bryant already looks better than his dreadul eight-for-26 shooting night Tuesday in the Lakers' overtime loss to Detroit. He has made six of 13 shots and all six of his free-throw attempts as the Lakers try to improve their 6-13 road record. Pau Gasol has nine points and seven rebounds for the Lakers (23-15). The Wizards (8-29)

In the end, the Clippers stayed put. They came into the NBA draft lottery with the eighth-best chance of winning and left Secaucus, N.J., on Tuesday night in the exact same position. Washington, which came in with the fifth-best chance, won the lottery and is widely expected to select Kentucky point guard John Wall. The Wizards were represented by a stunned-looking Irene Pollin, the widow of Abe Pollin, the team's longtime owner. She wore her husband's championship ring, from 1978, for good luck and said in a TV interview that it felt like he was "really here."

Prosecutors say Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas tried to pressure teammate Javaris Crittenton into covering up their locker-room confrontation in December. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh made the allegation in a court filing Tuesday as he advocated for a three-month jail sentence for Arenas for bringing guns to the Verizon Center. Arenas' lawyer is arguing for probation and community service. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday. Kavanaugh quoted from a text message that Arenas purportedly asked a teammate to forward to Crittenton.