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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
WASHINGTON (AP) –Washington Wizards coach Leonard Hamilton finally turned Richard Hamilton loose.
|  | | Richard Hamilton is the first Wizard to score 40 or more twice in a season since 1996. |
Hamilton responded with a career-high 41 points as the Wizards
beat Golden State 116-100 Thursday night.
"I just go out there and try to have fun," Hamilton said. "I
give a lot of credit to my teammates for really pushing the ball
and giving me opportunities. I know that I definitely have to step
up with Mitch Richmond and Chris Whitney both out with injuries.
"The more I'm out there, the more I'm learning. Now, I'm just
starting to feel more relaxed."
Hamilton, a second-year guard from Connecticut, became the first Wizard to score 40 points in two games in a season since Juwan Howard in April 1996.
Antawn Jamison, who scored nine of Golden State's first 21 points and finished with 31, gave the Warriors a 25-17 lead on a jumper with 2:31 left in the first quarter.
Erick Dampier's back-to-back layups stretched Golden State's
lead to 10 points, 31-21, with 41 seconds remaining in the period.
Then, the Warriors relaxed.
"I thought we started the game out pretty good," Golden State
coach Dave Cowens said. "Then they just started coming at us like
we weren't even there."
The Wizards erased a 10-point deficit with a 26-3 run early in the second quarter for a 47-39 lead with 5:41 remaining in the half.
Consecutive 3-pointers and a driving layup by Courtney Alexander
gave Washington a 52-41 lead.
"Hamilton got hot and Alexander got hot, and they just started
doing what they do and we had nobody to stay with them," Cowens
said. "We can't allow people to have second quarters like we did
tonight. That was atrocious."
Reserve point guard David Vanterpool scored a career-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting for the Wizards, and rookie Alexander had 24 points. Jahidi White added 21 points and 16 rebounds.
Mookie Blaylock scored 18 points and Corie Blount 11 for the Warriors, who lost their seventh consecutive road game.
Golden State, which is the top rebounding team in the league, was outrebounded by Washington 51-32.
Hamilton, who scored 21 points in the first half, punctuated the
Wizards' highest-scoring half of the season with a three-point play
and a layup for a 63-53 halftime lead.
The Wizards scored a season-high 39 points in the second
quarter, surpassing the 35 they scored against New Jersey on March
10.
Washington led by as many as 13 points three times in the third
quarter. Golden State pulled to 94-88 on a layup by Dampier with
9:06 remaining but never got closer.
Game notes
The Warriors are one of only two teams that are winless at MCI Center. The other, the Houston Rockets, visits Saturday night. ... Robert Parish was among the 13,041 at MCI Center as a guest of
Golden State assistant coach Clifford Ray, a former Washington
Bullets assistant. Parish and Ray played together for the Warriors
before Parish's glory years with the Celtics. Parish is coaching
Washington's entry in the United States Basketball League this
summer. ... Washington's 116 points was a season-high point total.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Golden State Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 116
Golden State 100
Atlanta 104
Indiana 93
Milwaukee 104
Miami 96
San Antonio 106
Utah 88
Boston 106
Chicago 104
Phoenix 90
Houston 85
Vancouver 89
New York 68
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