WASHINGTON -- After their worst start in history, the Washington Wizards became a national punch line. nike roshe run zapatillas . On TNT, Charles Barkley compared them with the Washington Generals, and a local newspaper had photos of fans wearing paper bags over their heads at Mondays 26-point loss to San Antonio. The jokes can stop -- at least for now. Washington earned its first victory after starting the season with 12 straight losses, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 84-82 on Wednesday night. "When youre 0-12, guys are going to make fun. Thats our business, guys," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "When you get to this level, youve got to have some thick skin, and youve got to be able to overcome those kind of things." Washington survived a scoreless 6:47 in the fourth when Jordan Crawford, who had 19 points, hit on a 3-pointer with 2:06 to play. The Wizards finally took the 84-82 lead on Emeka Okafors two free throws with 39.1 seconds remaining. Damian Lillard was called for travelling with 28 seconds left. After Nene was called for an offensive foul, J.J. Hickson missed a jumper with 2.8 seconds to play. The Wizards lost the ball with 0.2 seconds to go, but held on to end the skid. "Well, we made it interesting, but we won," Wittman said. Nine teams started the season 0-13, and the Wizards were tired of the ridicule theyd been subjected to -- locally and nationally -- as they crept toward the Nets NBA record-worst start of 0-18. "We dont want to go down in history as one of the worst teams ever," Washington forward Chris Singleton said. Wittman, whose team travels to New York on Friday and plays Miami next Tuesday, knows the next win may be hard to get. "We just broke through the ice. Ive lived in Minnesota for 15, 17 years. That ice was 4 or 5 feet deep, but its broken through now," Wittman said. Trevor Ariza had 14 and Kevin Seraphin added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which ended the third quarter on a 23-7 run to take a 68-59 lead, then padded its lead to 15 barely three minutes into the fourth. The 79-64 lead seemed safe -- even for the Wizards -- but the Trail Blazers ran off 16 straight points to take a 80-79 lead with 2:27 to play. Lillard and Nicolas Batum led Portland, losers of three straight, with 20. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17. Hickson had 15 points and 19 rebounds. "Loss is a loss, but this one definitely stings knowing the team is 0-12. You never want to be the team they get the win on but we were that team," Hickson said. Wesley Matthews addressed the Blazers after his team lost, and all his teammates were especially downcast. "You dont want to be the first team, thats very embarrassing," Batum said. Martel Webster had also used "embarrassing" to describe Washingtons 26-point loss on Monday. He was a bit relieved after the game. "We are definitely an underdog. Were definitely looked at as the losers of the league, but thats OK. We believe in each other," Webster said. Rookie Bradley Beal wasnt celebrating his first NBA win -- one that took 29 days to get. He claimed, like most of the Wizards, to ignore the chatter on TV and in the cyber world. "I dont pay attention to that stuff. Theyre on the outside looking in. They dont know how hard we work. They just see us playing and the scores," Beal said. The Blazers hit six of their first seven shots and took a 15-4 lead four minutes into the game. Nene entered the game with 1:43 to play and helped spur the Wizards to a 37-31 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. At halftime, the teams were tied at 43-all. After missing the first nine games of the season with a left foot injury, Nene played two games before missing Monday nights loss. He had six points in 19 minutes. "For tonight: fresh air, thats all I can say," Nene said. Notes: Washington F Trevor Booker missed his fourth straight game with a right knee injury. ... This was the 100th all-time meeting between the teams. Portland leads 52-48. ... The Wizards bench outscored the Trail Blazers 46-4. ... Portland has four more games in eight days left on this season-high, seven-game road trip: at Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte and Indiana. nike roshe run oreo . The Uruguay international was widely criticized for failing to shake Evras hand before Saturdays Premier League game at Old Trafford in the players first meeting since Suarez was banned for eight matches for racially abusing the United defender in October. nike free 5.0 baratas . The Boston Red Sox had their worst record in nearly a half century. http://www.baratasonlinees.com/adidas-zx-750.html . The Rangers made the move before Sundays game at Minnesota. Catcher Taylor Teagarden was recalled from triple-A Round Rock to take Napolis place, and he was to join the team in time to play against the Twins if needed.MIAMI - The Associated Press will periodically look at the changing landscape of the NBA during the season from varied perspectives: A players viewpoint, from the bench, and from the business side. In this installment, Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder provides an inside look.___Quin Snyder looks the same now as he did during his Duke playing days in the 1980s, having remained lean and appearing like he could still go 5-on-5 if so inclined.Hes fit as can be.But these days, he just looks exhausted.Such is the reality for an NBA coach, particularly a first-year one in the early phases of rebuilding a franchise. Days are long, days off are nonexistent, and there are constant reminders that no matter how meticulous the practice plan, every issue wont be solved between one game and the next.This has been the biggest realization from the opening portion of Snyders first season as coach of the Utah Jazz.Theres even more teaching than I probably anticipated on the front end, Snyder said. Teaching our entire group what it is, and when I say teaching I mean even our staff, getting them to understand what it is I want. That process and the urgency you feel as a coach to do that ... theres always something more you want to touch, review, get in, address and there literally is not enough time.Snyder is one of four rookie coaches in the NBA right now, and all four have been dealt distinctly different hands. At Golden State, Steve Kerr has a team thats already put together a 16-game winning streak and looks like a title contender. At Cleveland, David Blatt has the worlds best player in LeBron James and still has seen inconsistent results. At New York, Derek Fisher has a team thats plummeted to near the bottom of the dreadful Eastern Conference.When Snyder sat down with the AP in Miami, he was tired — and with good reason.The Jazz played at New Orleans on Tuesday, then came right back to beat the Heat in Miami on Wednesday. And nonetheless, on Thursday morning the Jazz were back on the practice floor at their downtown hotel for a workout and film session before flying to Orlando.Theres always something to work on, said Snyder, whose Jazz have won just seven times in the seasons first 26 games.He haas already matched wits with his fellow rookie coaches, beating the Cavaliers and the Knicks. nike air max 90 mujer. But hes not comparing himself to them.Ive looked for comps of other teams that are at a point and a place where we want to be, Snyder said. Whether that be style of play, execution, demeanour, connectivity, all the traits to me that make up a program and the type of program that we want, the fiber, the values. Thats where most of my attention has gone.For their part, his rookie colleagues agree with Snyder: Finding enough time to get everything done is daunting.I had a lot of thoughts coming in, Kerr said. Things I wanted to practice every day. All of a sudden, the season starts and you have to have a day off physically for the guys to rest, then the next day youve got a game and youve got to go over the game plan for the other team. ... Youve got to find time for everything, and its tricky.Added Fisher: I dont know if theres anything that strikes me as easier than I thought it would be. Its a demanding job.Blatt, a longtime coach overseas before coming to the NBA, said its a harsh learning process.There is a dynamic of what the schedule does to you, and how you go about trying to manage that in the best possible way, he said. The NBA is a different animal.Snyder knows the reality.The Jazz are basically out of the playoff picture already in the absolutely loaded Western Conference, and some of the players in his young group are probably experiencing some of the toughest stretches of their basketball lives.He gets angry, frustrated, disappointed, all the normal emotions that accompany losing.But as coach, he sees himself as the official mood-setter for his team, and thats why he doesnt stay down for long.Its not a great year to be rebuilding, Snyder said. One of the things thats challenging, your wins and losses are one way of evaluating success and thats obvious. Regardless if youre feeling that your team is improving, when you lose X games in a row, that can be a real impediment to growth. The resilience that is necessary to continue to commit and invest when you dont have the juice that comes from a win, it becomes hard.Thats the challenge hes embracing. cheap nhl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
