Wizards hand Bobcats 21st straight loss, 101-73

[April 24, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- John Wall had 16 points and 14 assists, Nene scored 18 points and Jan Vesely had 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting and the Washington Wizards handed the Charlotte Bobcats their 21st straight loss, 101-73 on Monday night.

It gave the Wizards their first four-game winning streak since Dec. 9-13, 2007. The 28-point margin of victory equaled their largest in the season.

The Bobcats were competitive for most of the first quarter until Charlotte's Tyrus Thomas was ejected with 3.6 seconds left for throwing an elbow at Washington's James Singleton. He was assessed a flagrant 2 foul. Singleton made two free throws.

It was part of a 16-0 run that gave the Wizards a 37-21 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Washington shot nearly 63 percent from the field in the first half in taking a 63-39 lead.

The Wizards led by as much as 75-45 in the third quarter.

Gerald Henderson had 19 points for the Bobcats, while D.J. Augustin added 15.

If Charlotte (7-57) loses its final two games, they will finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history. They play at Orlando on Wednesday before closing the regular season at home Thursday night against New York.

In the first part of the season, the Bobcats had a better record than Washington. On Jan. 14, the Bobcats were 3-10 while the Wizards were 1-11.

In the last week, Washington has improved markedly beating Chicago, Milwaukee and Miami before they completed the sweep against Charlotte.

The Bobcats haven't won since March 17.

"It's been very, very hard for me because I've never been through this before," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said before the game.

"The losing part kind of eats you up. I can't sleep at night, wondering what we can do to change this thing around. I have to understand who we have, a lot of young people," he said.

They scored 100 points just seven time, but lost two of those games.

"If we don't play a perfect game, we have a hard time winning," Silas said.

NOTES: Augustin returned after missing four games with tendinitis in his right knee. ... Washington F Trevor Booker is still hoping to return from a left foot injury before the end of the season. He has missed 13 games. ... The Wizards had 28 assists, tying their season high.

[Associated Press]

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