John Wall

WASHINGTON - You can call them unlucky, you can call them cursed, or you can call them snake-bitten. You can blame supernatural happenings - such as a reserve hitting a three-pointer to force overtime - but there was also plenty of concrete evidence why the 76ers lost, 116-115, in overtime to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night at the Verizon Center. The most compelling evidence comes in the form of the Wizards' 6-foot-4 rookie point guard, John Wall, who finished the game with 29 points, 13 assists, and 9 steals.

WASHINGTON - Donovan McNabb was benched in the final minutes of his team's game because his coach basically said a lifetime backup had a better chance of winning the game than McNabb, a 12-year pro with six Pro Bowl appearances. That, folks, is not even close to being the hot topic of sports discussion in the nation's capital, however. Donovan, you're not in Philly anymore. All the hype - and it is blatantly evident as you walk the historic downtown streets amid No. 2 Wizard jerseys - is John Wall.

1. John Wall (Kentucky)    2. Evan Turner (Ohio State)    3. Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)    4. DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky) 5. Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)    6. Someone else

Amanda "Amy" Wall was so excited she was up before the alarm clock, which was set plenty early Saturday so the family would be ready for her First Holy Communion. "Can I get dressed yet?" she asked her Mom as the sun rose in Lower Bucks County. Soon she was in that fluffy white dress with the frills, the ribbon, and the May Queen crown. In a class of 70 in the second grade at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church, in Holland, Pa., how could there be so many styles of cute and white?

FOUR SUMMERS ago, a skinny 16-year-old from North Carolina arrived at Philadelphia University, hoping one of the big-name college coaches there for Reebok U might notice him. He had just gone through what was essentially a tryout camp in Chicago just to get an invitation to one of the elite camps in America, where high school stars like Brandon Jennings and Renardo Sidney were waiting and did not need to be introduced to anybody. "We found out the last minute," John Wall said last evening at Philly U. He arrived that night with his AAU coach and a friend after an 8-hour drive from Raleigh.

Celts' home jinx Having won the first two, the Boston Celtics are back home to play the Orlando Magic for Game 3 on Saturday, but that's not necessarily a good thing. The Celtics were one of only two NBA teams with a better record on the road than at home this season. 'Overzealous' staffer There it was on Facebook for all to see: the Washington Wizards telling the world they will draft John Wall with the No. 1 pick. Myron Goodman made the posting Friday on a Facebook page for University of Kentucky alumni.

Considering how empty the present looks for both teams, Tuesday night's game between the Washington Wizards and 76ers becomes a comparison of the future. More specifically, a matchup of the No. 1 selection in the 2010 NBA draft, Wizards point guard John Wall, vs. the No. 2 selection in that same draft, Sixers guard Evan Turner. Neither team has won a game, combining for five losses, but both rookies have demonstrated that there is some reason for hope. Against the Miami Heat on opening night, Turner finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

Kentucky coach John Calipari looked up at the clock after visiting Miami of Ohio tied the fourth-ranked Wildcats with 6 seconds left and wondered if he should call timeout. John Wall didn't give him a chance. The heralded Kentucky freshman quickly grabbed the inbounds pass, raced by his coach in a blur and pulled up from 15 feet. Before Calipari could collect his thoughts, Wall's jumper was through the net to give the Wildcats a 72-70 win last night and Kentucky's newest superstar was running down the floor pounding his chest in joy. "John Wall catching it and going, I loved it," Calipari said.

Reebok's grassroots officials are in Philadelphia this week, looking for the next John Wall. The sneaker company will host 118 of the nation's top high school basketball players at the Reebok Basketball Breakout Challenge at Philadelphia University. The camp, which began with Tuesday night's media reception with Wall, will conclude Saturday. "I think the key point is this is an event that mirrors John Wall's discovering path," said Brian Lee, head of global basketball at Reebok.

New 76ers coach Doug Collins added Quin Snyder to his coaching staff in a developmental role. The last three seasons, the 43-year-old Snyder was the head coach of the Austin Toros, which is the NBA Developmental League team of the San Antonio Spurs. Previously, Snyder spent seven seasons as the head coach at Missouri, ending in 2006. Top prospects visit. The Sixers next week will bring in four of the players who are expected to be among the first five to go in the June 24 NBA draft.

OKLAHOMA CITY Thunder forward James Harden underwent tests Monday following his concussion in the previous day's game against the Los Angeles Lakers and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. Harden participated in limited activities on Monday but must go through additional steps under the NBA's concussion policy before he is cleared to play again. Harden dropped to the floor after taking a vicious backward elbow to the head from Metta World Peace after the Lakers' forward had dunked over two Thunder players late in the second quarter of Los Angeles' double-overtime win Sunday.

      Jordan Crawford equaled a season-high with 32 points, and John Wall had 14 points and 10 assists Wednesday night as the Wizards dealt a crippling blow to the Milwakee Bucks' attempt to make the final playff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 121-112 defeat in Washington. Milwaukee began the day 11/2 games behind the 76ers for eighth place in the East, but lost a game as the Sixers won in Cleveland. Monta Ellis had 31 points for Milwaukee, which has lost four of five.

  Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Kevin Garnett added 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Boston Celtics made their first eight shots of the fourth quarter to hold off the Heat, 115-107, on Tuesday night in Miami. Rajon Rondo posted double-digit assists for the 18th straight game, extending the NBA's longest such streak in 20 years with an 18-point, 15-assist effort. LeBron James finished with 36 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for Miami, which got 20 from Dwyane Wade and 18 from Mario Chalmers.

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points, Tyson Chandler collected 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the visiting New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic, 96-80, on Thursday night. J.R. Smith and Toney Douglas each added 15 points for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in their last 13 visits to Orlando. New York also hit 13 three-point shots. Jason Richardson scored 16 points and Glen Davis 15 to lead Orlando. The Magic's loss came on the heels of coach Stan Van Gundy's comments Thursday morning that included his saying he had heard from top team officials that Dwight Howard has asked that he be fired.

ATLANTA - Most teams are congratulated for making Elite Eight appearances. Not Kentucky. Wildcats fans expect their teams to at least reach the Final Four. Anything short of that is a disappointing season. "There's only one team in this tournament that cannot lose," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "And if they lose, it's a disaster, and that's us. "I'm not putting that one on these kids. They're all young. Let's just do what we do best, play basketball, and let's do it at our best.

Paul Pierce scored 25 points to help the Boston Celtics snap the host Milwaukee Bucks' six-game winning streak, 100-91, on Thursday night. Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Mickael Pietrus scored 13 points for the Celtics, who were playing their seventh game on an eight-game road trip. With Thursday's win, the Celtics improved to 4-3 on the trip. Brandon Jennings had 19 points for Milwaukee. It was the Bucks' home debut for Monta Ellis, who was acquired along with forward Ekpe Udoh in a trade with the Golden State Warriors last week.

THE GRUELING NBA schedule is really starting to wear on the Los Angeles Clippers, who needed a late rally and a gritty overtime effort in their sixth home game in 8 days to hold off the Detroit Pistons, 87-83. Although Chris Paul is just as tired as his teammates, he's keeping the Clippers competitive. Paul scored nine of his 19 points in overtime and added a season-high 15 assists. Blake Griffin had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and he tipped in Paul's missed layup with 19 seconds left in regulation before Paul swiped the ball from Tayshaun Prince to send the game to overtime.

LeBRON JAMES and Dwyane Wade found a way to motivate their teammates last night. They challenged them to play for history. James scored 23 points and nearly produced his first triple double in 11 months as Miami rolled to a 105-90 victory at Indiana to become the first NBA team in 33 years to win three road games in three nights. "I think as far as team chemistry, we got better every single night," James said. "Tonight we had 17 assists. We rebounded and defended. When we do that, we're very, very tough to beat and it shows the professionalism of the group.

The NBA-worst Washington Wizards fired coach Flip Saunders on Tuesday after a 2-15 start and replaced him with assistant Randy Wittman. The Wizards fell to 0-7 on the road with an embarrassing 20-point loss to the 76ers on Monday. "I felt like at this time, our players were not responding, and we needed a different voice," team president Ernie Grunfeld said. He and Wittman spoke about playing a faster-paced, running game on offense and perhaps using more press tactics on defense.

JOHN WALL scored 25 points, Nick Young had 24 and Jordan Crawford added 18 to lead host Washington to a 105-102 victory over Oklahoma City last night, snapping the Thunder's seven-game winning streak and giving the Wizards just their second win of the season. Oklahoma City lost for only the third time in 15 games, getting 69 points from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. During one stretch bridging the second and third quarters, the duo accounted for 21 of the Thunder's 23 points.