Wizards Burn Suns

On Saturday night at the Verizon Center, the Wizards dominated the Phoenix Suns by a score of 127-105. Tonight, Washington continued its Barnum and Bailey road trip in the Arizona desert, making their lone appearance in Phoenix to take on the 23-45 Suns.

In Washington's previous game in Charlotte, John Wall's 25 points were not enough to carry the Wizards past the Bobcats, who were led by Gerald Henderson with 27 points. Tonight, Wall would be matched up with Goran Dragic who tallied 12 points and 11 assists in a losing effort this past Saturday in D.C.

Tonight, Washington led 59-45 at the half, and cruised to an 88-79 victory, sweeping the two game season series with Phoenix. John Wall led the Wizards with 19 points and 8 assists. Nene added 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Wizards did not escape Phoenix without injury, however. Bradley Beal left the game with 9:53 left in the 4th quarter, aggravating the same ankle he had already sprained at the beginning of the month, in an attempt to block Shannon Brown's fast-break layup. To add insult to injury, Beal was called for goal-tending on the play, and was called for a technical foul for throwing his mouth guard following the call.

Wizards guard Garrett Temple and Suns guard Goran Dragic battle for the loose ball. (Photo by Matt York/Associated Press)

Phoenix was paced by Goran Dragic, who tallied another double-double, with 18 points and 11 assists. Wesley Johnson added 18 points on 8-18 shooting from the field. Jermaine O'Neal had 12 points and 6 rebounds, but left the game in the 4th quarter with a sprained ankle.

Next, the Wizards will travel to Los Angeles to square off with the Lakers at Staples Center on Friday night.

Sunset

After a 96-87 victory over New Orleans on Friday night, the Wizards were back at the Verizon Center on Saturday to take on the 22-44 Phoenix Suns, who were neck-and-neck with the Hornets for last place in the Western Conference, and had lost their last 3 games coming into tonight's game in D.C.

Suns rookie guard Diante Garrett has averaged 2 points and 1.5 assists over 13 games in Phoenix.

Suns guard Shannon Brown has averaged 11 points in his seventh season in the NBA

A native of Lubljana, Slovenia, Suns guard Goran Dragic has averaged 14.1 points and 6.9 assists so far this season.

Suns forward Wesley Johnson, right, in his first season with Phoenix, after spending the first two years of his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Suns rookie guard Kendall Marshall has averaged 2.4 points in 33 games for Phoenix.

Former Houston Rockets center Ralph Sampson, who played one season with the Washington Bullets in 1991, works for the Phoenix Suns as an assistant player development coordinator, after playing in the NBA for eight seasons.

The Wizards lineup was supplemented by the return of Bradley Beal, who had missed six straight games with a sprained left ankle. Beal played surprisingly well in his return, contributing 13 points and 6 rebounds in just under 21 minutes. Meanwhile, A.J. Price missed his third straight game with a sore right groin.

It was another disappointing crowd, though the attendance was listed as 16, 882. There was an odd mix of St. Patrick's Day revelers, clearly inebriated in observance of the Irish holiday, and a lot of little children. It was kid's night at the Verizon Center, so all young fans, or adults who looked exuberant enough, received a Washington Wizards lunchbox.

It was a high-scoring affair. Washington led 66-59 at the half, and went on to demolish the Suns 127-105 in a contest that severely lacked any sort of defensive intensity. Martell Webster paced the Wizards with a career-high 34 points, including 7 three-pointers. John Wall added 17 points and 11 assists. Emeka Okafor also had a double-double, contributing 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Bradley Beal scored 13 points and 6 rebounds in his return to the Wizards lineup from a sprained left ankle.

Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin shoots a hook shot over Suns center Jermaine O'Neal

Give and Go: Wizards forward Trevor Booker tries to hand the ball to a cutting Martell Webster.

Wizards guard Martell Webster goes one-on-one with Suns forward Michael Beasley

Webster steps back against Beasley

Webster gets ready to shoot from the corner over Beasley

Wizards guard Garrett Temple is defended by Suns guard Goran Dragic

Martell Webster tries to drive around Suns forward P.J. Tucker

Wizards forward Cartier Martin takes it inside against Suns forward P.J. Tucker

Cartier Martin tries to drive baseline on P.J. Tucker

Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin and Suns center Jermaine O'Neal anticipate a rebound

Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin goes up for the dunk attempt over Suns center Hamed Haddadi

Wizards guard Garrett Temple stares down Suns guard Kendall Marshall

Garrett Temple is defended by Kendall Marshall

Phoenix was led by D.C. native Michael Beasley with 21 points off the bench. Jared Dudley added 16 points on 6-12 shooting from the field.

The Wizards will embark on a four game West coast swing, starting on Monday night in Charlotte, while the Barnum and Bailey circus inhabits the Verizon Center. They will return home the following Monday to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in the nation's capital.