Wizards

The Washington Wizards earned their first victory after starting the season with 12 consecutive losses, getting 19 points from Jordan Crawford in an 84-82 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. The Wizards survived a scoreless stretch of 6 minutes, 47 seconds in the fourth period when Crawford hit on a three-pointer with 2:06 to play, and they finally took the 84-82 lead on Emeka Okafor's two free throws with 39.1 seconds to play. Elsewhere: Joe Johnson scored 18 points, Andray Blatche had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Boston Celtics, 95-83, after Rajon Rondo was ejected following a fight.

The Washington Wizards played like the early-season Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers played like the early-season Wizards. The visiting Cavaliers even threw in a futile fourth-quarter rally, just as the Wizards often did during their worst start in franchise history. But the rally fell short, and the Wizards rode a newfound confidence to last night's 95-89 victory, their fifth straight. "We're not going to be satisfied as a team winning five games in a row," point guard Chris Whitney said.

The Washington Wizards held the visiting Brooklyn Nets without a field goal for nearly nine minutes during the first half, survived a second-half slump, and held on for an 89-74 victory Friday night in their latest win over a team near the top of the standings. John Wall had 15 points and nine assists and Nene had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who have one of the worst records in the NBA but have nevertheless taken eight of their last nine at home. Elsewhere: Kobe Bryant shrugged off a scoreless first half to finish with 20 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to beat the host Charlotte Bobcats, 100-93.

Washington forward Caron Butler, who had missed 16 games with a hip injury, scored 19 points to lead the Wizards to a 101-99 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Butler, who turned 28 yesterday, was 8-for-18 from the field in 41 minutes. He survived some rough contact and made six of his first eight shots. His injury, a small labral tear of the left hip joint, caused him to miss the All-Star Game. LeBron James had 25 points and seven assists and Sasha Pavlovic added 24 points for the Cavaliers.

Rod Strickland could end up with the Los Angeles Lakers, who are one of "six or seven" playoff teams interested in signing the point guard after he clears waivers, agent David Falk said yesterday. The Wizards dumped Strickland, buying out the final year of his contract for half price - $2.5 million. Strickland took the hit so he can sign with another team and be eligible for this season's playoffs. If the Wizards had cut Strickland after midnight last night, he would have been ineligible for the postseason.

The Washington Wizards got mad, then got even. Angry at allowing LeBron James to dominate them with a triple-double in Game 1, the Wizards roughed up Cleveland's superstar and downed the host Cavaliers, 89-84, last night to tie their Eastern Conference series at a game apiece. Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points, Antawn Jamison added 21 and Caron Butler was the primary defender on James, who wasn't the same after he got wrapped up by massive Wizards center Brendan Haywood in the first quarter.

The Washington Wizards signed first-round draft pick Richard Hamilton to a three-year deal worth just over $5.9 million, ending a delay that began when the Connecticut All-America player fired his agent. "This guy is famous now, but he's going to be a hell of a lot more famous when he helps the Wizards win the championship," owner Abe Pollin said yesterday. "We're out to have a very competitive team. We are going to be in the playoffs this year. " The Wizards also signed second-round draft choice Calvin Booth from Penn State.

Perfection is a place that reflects its purpose. Consider the basement ballroom at the Park Central Hotel, site last weekend of the clan gathering and world championship of the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA). With its mirrored ceiling, shimmering chandeliers and dizzying patterned carpet, with banks of games along the walls, and air throbbing with thwangs and clangs and pong-pong-pongs, and kinetic competitors bouncing from station to station, the place resembled nothing so much as, well, a humongous pinball machine.

The Washington Wizards traded the rights to Spanish guard Juan Carlos Navarro to the Memphis Grizzlies yesterday for a future first-round draft pick. The Wizards drafted Navarro in the second round, 40th overall, in 2002. He never joined the team, instead playing for FC Barcelona in Spain. Last month, FC Barcelona and the 27-year-old Navarro agreed to a buyout that allowed him to head to the NBA. In other personnel news: The Detroit Pistons signed guard/forward Jarvis Hayes.

Maurice Cheeks wishes the whole thing weren't perceived as "a big deal. " Larry Brown, on the other hand, says that's exactly what it should be. Both are talking about Cheeks, in his fifth season as an assistant coach with the 76ers, meeting last week with Washington general manager Wes Unseld about the Wizards' head-coaching vacancy, created after Bernie Bickerstaff was fired this week. Cheeks was apparently the first prospective candidate Unseld contacted. It likely will be "a big deal" again tomorrow, because the Sixers play in Washington at 12:30.

LONDON - When Ray Harryhausen was 13, he was so overwhelmed by "King Kong" that he vowed he would create otherworldly creatures on film. He fulfilled his desire as an adult, thrilling audiences with skeletons in a sword fight, a gigantic octopus destroying the Golden Gate Bridge and a six-armed dancing goddess. On Tuesday, Harryhausen, 92, died at London's Hammersmith Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for about a week. Though little known by the general public, Harryhausen made 17 movies that are cherished by devotees of film fantasy.

ON MONDAY, NBA player Jason Collins broke the news that he was gay via a story on Sports Illustrated's website. By doing so, he became the first active male professional athlete to admit he was homosexual. Yesterday, another website revealed another bombshell: The 34-year-old, who played for the Celtics and Wizards this season, was engaged to a former WNBA player. TMZ reported that Collins dated Carolyn Moos for 8 years and the two were planning to be wed before parting ways 4 years ago. And, according to the report, Moos said she had no idea Collins was gay until he called her over the weekend.

WASHINGTON - With the simplest of sentences, NBA veteran Jason Collins set aside years of worry and silence to become the first active player in one of four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay. In a first-person article posted yesterday on Sports Illustrated's website, Collins begins: "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. " Collins has played for six teams in 12 seasons, most recently as a reserve with the Washington Wizards after a midseason trade from the Boston Celtics.

WASHINGTON - While 76ers coach Doug Collins has not addressed a column in Thursday's Inquirer that indicated ownership wants him to resign, there are others in front offices around the league that are willing to talk about it. Such was the case Friday when an Atlantic Division general manager, speaking anonymously, addressed the situation. "Doug has gotten them to the playoffs in the last two seasons, so he's got that going for him," the general manager said. "Everyone knows he's an excellent coach.

WASHINGTON - As Doug Collins walked off the court at the Verizon Center at halftime on Friday, two 76ers, Thaddeus Young and Damien Wilkins, had something to say to him. "They said, 'Coach, you know we are going to keep fighting and competing,' " Collins said. "That was fun to hear. " Facing a Washington team that, like the 76ers, is playing out the remaining string of games on its schedule, the Sixers fell behind by 13 points in the second quarter and then outscored the Wizards by 69-45 the rest of the way, ending a three-game losing streak with a 97-86 win. The Sixers improved to 32-47.

The New York Knicks romped to their first Atlantic Division title since 1994, getting 36 points from Carmelo Anthony and beating the visiting Washington Wizards, 120-99, Tuesday night for their 13th straight victory. John Wall scored 33 points for the Wizards. Elsewhere: The host Miami Heat, without injured Dwyane Wade or ailing Chris Bosh, saw LeBron James score 28 points in 30 minutes and Udonis Haslem add 10 points and 15 rebounds in a 94-83 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

CARMELO ANTHONY tied his career high with 50 points and the New York Knicks won their ninth straight game, topping the injury-depleted Miami Heat, 102-90, Tuesday night. Anthony finished 18-for-26 from the field, reaching 50 on a jumper with 16.9 seconds remaining. J.R. Smith scored 14 and Raymond Felton added 10 for New York. Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which played without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers, all held out with injuries that are not believed to be serious.

LeBron James left one rebound shy of a triple-double. That's about all the Heat could complain about. James finished with 24 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds, and the Heat won their 27th straight by running away at the finish to beat the Magic, 108-94, on Monday night in Orlando, Fla. Miami pushed its lead to 20 before Heat coach Erik Spoelstra emptied the bench in what was his 250th win with the team. The Heat are within six games of matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Boston Celtics had six players in double figures to beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 105-88, Saturday night for their 11th straight win at home. Kevin Garnett sat out with a strained left thigh muscle, but the Celtics had more than enough to down the Bobcats for the first time in three meetings this season. Avery Bradley scored 13 and Courtney Lee had 12 points and five assists, and Paul Pierce had 14 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter. Two of the Bobcats' NBA-low 14 wins came against the Celtics, including a 100-74 blowout in Charlotte on Tuesday.

Oh, we're off to see the wizard - and dropping a lot of coin doing it. Oz the Great and Powerful showed its mightiness at the box office on its debut weekend, raking in $80.3 million for the Munchkins at Disney. The 3D prequel to L. Frank Baum 's classic tale stars James Franco as the Wizard and Mila Kunis , Michelle Williams , and Rachel Weisz as the witches he finds in Oz. Sam Raimi , who helmed the original Spider-Man trilogy, directed. Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the Associated Press the success of Oz was "a shot in the arm" for the movie industry.