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With 2.3 seconds left, Craig Brackins hit a three pointer which could have given the New Orleans Hornets their first summer league victory of 2010. In the end it wound up being just another nice shot by the Hornets rookie. Washington guard Lester Hudson hit a crowd pleasing jump shot as time expired.

There was however a bright side to the game. Through three quarters Wall dominated a porous New Orleans defense, scoring 29 points and making me wonder how much longer Chris Paul will be able to hold the title of undisputed best point guard. I'm not going to talk about Wall too much, but he's a fantastic talent. His crossover gives me goose bumps. Once he finds his jump shot he's going to be nearly impossible to stop.

But I digress. Quincy Pondexter shut down Wall in the fourth quarter, holding him to only two points. His superior size and length frustrated him and disappointed those in attendance who wanted to continue watching the John Wall show.

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There really is no excuse for what transpired tonight in New Orleans. Coming off what may have been their best win of the season, and facing a team struggling as much as any other in the league, the Hornets gave away what some (me) had predicted as a sure fire victory. Worst of all was the way it happened.

The Bees were outplayed the entire way. Just over a minute into the game, Morris Peterson scored his third point (of four total in 20 minutes). For the rest of the way they trailed a Wizards team missing four starters. Let me rephrase that. In the closing 46 minutes of play against a team which previously lost 16 straight games and was missing four starters, the Hornets never led. Did I mention this was a home game?

There was some excitement in the closing minutes however, so let's get to it.

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The Hornets delivered perhaps their best performance of the season on Monday against the Lakers, and tonight they'll try keep it rolling against the visiting Washington Wizards. Game tips at 7 Central.

The Wizards are 21-52 on the season, 9-28 on the road and have lost a whopping 16 straight. Yes, they haven't won a game since February. Last night they were in Houston and lost 94-98 to a short-handed Rockets team. Wiz big man Andray Blatche dropped 31 and 10 in Houston, continuing to be the lone bright spot for the team of late; he's averaging 20 points and 8 boards the last two months. (Update: As Wiz blogger Kyle Weidie tells it though, Blatche has "too much Tin Man in him... no heart... especially when it comes to rebounding toughness.")

The only other meeting between the Hornets and Wizards this season was back on January 10 in Washington. Chris Paul came up big in the clutch and finished with 26 points and 14 assists to lead the Hornets to a 115-110 victory. The Hornets were also dialed in from deep in that game, nailing 13-of-23 attempts.

Antawn Jamison and Randy Foye combined to score 55 points for the Wizards in that January game, but now Jamison is in Cleveland and Foye is likely done for the season with a wrist injury. Also, Josh Howard is out with a knee injury, and Al Thornton (hip flexor) is expected miss tonight's game.

For the Hornets, there's no word on a return date for Peja Stojakovic.

Numbers:

Pace: Wizards 94.2 (20th), Hornets 94.7 (16th)
Offensive Efficiency: Wizards 100.7 (26th), Hornets 105.0 (14th)
Defensive Efficiency: Wizards 106.4 (18th), Hornets 107.1 (23rd)

Linkage:

• In case you haven't heard: Tim Floyd's headed to UTEP
• Journals: Priorities of Work for Hornets Front Office
• Rival bloggers: Bullets Forever | Truth About It (THN) | Wizards Insider

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Marcus Thornton. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

The Hornets won their sixth straight game earlier today, knocking off the Wizards in Washington. Once again it proved to be a struggle, as New Orleans allowed the Wiz to shoot 58 percent from the field and out-rebound them 41-29. Thankfully the 3-ball was working though and the Hornets feasted on 19 Washington turnovers.

The Wizards refused to go away in the final minutes and had the game tied at 101 with three minutes left, but then Randy Foye and Nick Young made some bone head plays and the Hornets finally knocked in a few free throws. 115-110 was the final score (box).

Peja Stojakovic

A long-awaited big game from Peja, who started out red hot with 13 first-quarter points and finished with 20 on 7-of-13 shooting. He was the primary option on a numerous set plays and benefited more than once from solid screens by David West. Nothing new there, but the Hornets also had him running off a corner screen into the paint a couple of times and he seemed to have an extra bounce in his step with spins and fades.

Chris Paul

26 points, 10-of-20 shooting, 14 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers. And at the risk of sounding spoiled, something seemed a little off with Chris in this one. I felt he passed up a lot of open jumpers, missed a couple of layups he usually makes and got a little lost on defensive rotations a few times. The Hornets also tried to exploit Paul's match-up with the 5-5 Earl Boykins in the fourth quarter, running the same play three times in a row to get CP posted against him, but nothing much came of it, with Paul being forced into a travel the last time.

I liked hearing Paul scolding West late in the second quarter though. After West hedged poorly trying to guard the pick and roll and Randy Foye ended up scoring in the lane, Paul could be heard yelling at West: "You say you gonna show, you better do it!"

Marcus Thornton

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Hornets in Washington to play the Wizards today, trying to build on those two road wins earlier in the week. Game tipping at noon Central.

The Wizards have been in turmoil lately with the whole Gilbert Arenas gun fiasco, which saw him get suspended indefinitely. They're also expected to be one of the more active teams leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline, with rumors abound about the likes of Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler.

For right now though, the Wizards are 12-22 basketball team coming off a surprise win over the visiting Magic on Friday. Jamison has led them in scoring the past three games with at least 26 per, while guys like Butler, Randy Foye and Nick Young have been taking turns having big scoring nights. Some numbers:

Pace: Wizards 94.1 (8th), Hornets 91.9 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Wizards 101.8 (23rd), Hornets 103.2 (20th)
Defensive Efficiency: Wizards 105.8 (21st), Hornets 105.6 (20th)

The Hornets are gunning for their sixth straight win overall, and hoping they don't need all 48 minutes to secure it after struggling against the Nets on Friday.

Linkage:

• Journals: Hornets' Store Lacking in Team | Trade Talk
  
• Lagniappe: More make-believe trades and stuff
  
• Rival bloggers: Bullets Forever | Truth About It (THN) | Wizards Insider

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner, today featuring Morris Peterson. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)