March is without a doubt the dog days of the NBA schedule. College ball takes center stage while half the teams in the NBA start jockeying for ping pong balls. So do you stay at home and watch Idol murder the Beatles or take in a game against a team 17 games under .500? Judging by the “14,755” in attendance for Washington’s 105-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks last night, most people chose the former. Too bad for them, as rookie Nick Young paced the Wiz and excited those in attendance, including Redskins QB Jason Campbell, with an array of dunks, finishing with a career-high 22 points in 27 minutes. Antawn Jamison added 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds, but left the game in the last minute with a lower back strain.

“It was a much-needed win,” head coach Eddie Jordan said after the game. “Nick Young is the story [of the game]. The guy came in and felt it and got his confidence going. We want him to be in attack mode. That’s how he can really help us.” Young, who was aggressive on offense all night, went to the hole when the opportunity was there and settled for jumpers when he found the lane clogged. But it was his play around the rim that got the crowd out of their seats. “I’m tired of Brendan Haywood calling me a practice dunker and all kinds of stuff,” Young said. “So it was my way to kind of show them that I belong here.”

The Wizards did a good job on Bucks star Michael Redd early, but Milwaukee had other players to pick up the slack. Charlie Villanueva scored 10 of his 24 in the first quarter, Andrew Bogut added 10 points in the second before Redd brought the Bucks back from a 13 point halftime deficit in the third. But the Wiz buckled down and the Bucks offense bogged down in the fourth as Washington went on a 12-2 run to put the game out of reach.

Photo by Kyle Gustafson