The Wizards used a big fourth quarter to knock off the Nuggets
last night. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Wizards 107, Nuggets 97: Break up the Wizards! (Oh wait…yeah, never mind.) The Wizards used an awesome performance in the fourth quarter — outscoring Denver 34-15 — to overtake one of the better teams in the league and win their second straight. Despite all the commotion surrounding the team in the wake of the recent roster shakeups, the new-look Wizards have responded well: new faces Josh Howard and Al Thornton had 20 and 21 points, respectively, and Andre Blatche followed up his 33 point outburst against Minnesota with a double-double. Chauncy Billups and Carmelo Anthony took nearly half of the Nuggets shots, but Anthony had a poor shooting night, and the Nuggets weren’t getting many passes converted into buckets (12 assists compared to Washington’s 22). The trades also meant that 11 players saw the court for the Wizards (get used to it); the only player listed in the box score who didn’t was Javaris Crittendon, for obvious reasons. It’s hard to believe, but even after trading its three best active players, the Wizards obviously still have the capability to play ball (talking playoffs, though, seems a bit of a stretch). All this, and the team has apparently saved up enough money to not have to worry about trying to void Gilbert Arenas’ contract. Always look on the bright side, I suppose.