Wizards Escape With Win Against Kings
Salmons, who was being double teamed, caught the ball, took a step back and launched a three pointer that had a very vocal Verizon Center crowd holding their breath. You could hear the air go out of the building when the shot swished through the hoop and everyone sat in stunned silence as the Kings rushed the court, thinking they had tied the game. NBA rules state any game winning or tying shots at the buzzer must be reviewed by replay and upon further review, the officials ruled the shot a two pointer and awarded Washington the victory. That changed soon after when further scrutiny revealed the shot to be a three pointer that wasn't released before time expired, hence the 109-106 final. If it sounds confusing here, just think how everyone at the game felt.
A visibly upset Eric Musselmen, head coach of the Kings, said flatly "I don't want to talk about it," after the game. Salmons had no problem discussing his objection to the final ruling. "When I made it, I figured it was a three. Everyone told me my foot was behind the line," he said. "I was thinking we were going to overtime but then they just called the game. We came in and saw the replay and I was definitely way behind the line, but the time was close. I don't know if it's the right thing to call the game or not."
"It's tough," he continued, "we fought back like that and lost on a controversial call. Anytime you lose on a controversial call it's tough because you feel like they took it out of your hands. The way we fought back, we showed character."
Photo by Kyle Gustafson
Bibby agreed with Salmons. "It looked good to me. We came in here and watched it. It looked good. But we lost, that's all that matters." He wasn't in the mood to talk about the trade rumors though.
The Wizards had a late flight last night so they didn't stick around to talk about the game. They looked good building up their fourth quarter lead however. Gilbert Arenas started the game on fire, no doubt fueled by DeShawn Stevenson's remarks earlier in the week. Agent Zero shot 6 for 7 during the first period, including three three pointers, on his way to 19 points. He had 30 by halftime and ended up with 43. Caron Butler picked up the slack late, scoring 25. Bibby and Ron Artest led the Kings with 30 and 32 points respectively.
The team will have little time to reflect on last night, as the Wiz are in Chicago tonight to take on the Bulls, who beat the Bibby-less Cavaliers last night. Tip off is 8 p.m. and you can watch all the action courtesy of ESPN.