WASHINGTON (AP) – Rub your eyes and look again at the NBA standings. The Washington Wizards are seven games over .500 – for the first time since 1985.

“For 19 years, they did everything wrong,” point guard Gilbert Arenas said at the end of a 5-0 homestand. “In one year, we’re doing everything right.”

Week after week this season, the Wizards have churned out press releases full of statistics pointing out that the team is on its best pace in decades or has reached some sort of milestone not seen since the Reagan administration. Enjoy the numbers while you can, the cynics say, because the other shoe is bound to drop for a seemingly cursed franchise.

But, so far, it hasn’t. The Wizards have dispatched Atlanta, New Jersey, Seattle, Minnesota and Portland at home since the start of the year to improve to 20-13. Only Miami and Cleveland have better records in the East, and the nation’s capital is no longer in the gimme column when Western Conference teams come to town.

“Washington has Larry Hughes, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison,” Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said before Wednesday’s 104-100 loss to the Wizards. “Nothing easy about that.”

The Big Three – for lack of a better nickname – are on pace to become the NBA’s first trio of teammates to average 20 points each since 1991. Here’s another stat, one that requires a deep breath: Hughes is the only player in the league averaging at least 20 points (21.1), five rebounds (6.0), five assists (5.3) and 2.5 steals (2.84).

In fact, Hughes is the runaway leader in total steals with 91, although Allen Iverson, fourth with 73, vowed to make up ground when the two spoke Tuesday night.

“He said he was going to get it – he was going to catch me,” Hughes said. “With him out there, there’s always a chance.”

And there’s always a chance, too, that the Wizards will stumble and miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year and the 16th time in 17 years. After all, Washington was 26-21 with Michael Jordan going into the All-Star break after beating Sacramento three years ago – and went 11-24 the rest of the way.

The true realist is coach Eddie Jordan, who is the first to admit that the Wizards caught a break with a soft early schedule in a mediocre conference.

The coach is also concerned about an undersized frontcourt that has played without Kwame Brown for most of the season because of ankle injuries, although Etan Thomas’ return this week from an abdominal injury should help.

“We have to build up the wins now for when things get thin later,” Jordan said. “We’ve got to be like squirrels. You’ve got to harvest your nuts right now.”

On the plus side, Arenas, Hughes and Jamison are longtime good buddies who previously were teammates on the Golden State Warriors and have adopted an one-for-all attitude. Because each is able to take over a game, the team can win when one of them has an off night – with no egos bruised.

“They’re making my job easy,” Jamison said after a 4-for-17 shooting night against the Trail Blazers. “One of the Big Three didn’t have it going tonight, but the other two found a way to get it done.”

The Big Three are young enough to average 37-plus minutes apiece, and all three played the entire second half against Minnesota. They’ve repeatedly pulled out victories in the fourth quarter, whether coming from behind or holding off a rally. Portland overcame a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit Wednesday, but Arenas essentially won the game in the final 30 seconds with a layup in traffic and a steal of an inbounds pass.

“It’s maturity. It’s being familiar with the system we ran last year. It’s development over the summer with our assistant coaches,” said Jordan, who couldn’t fully implement his ball-sharing offense during last year’s 25-57 season because of injuries. “It’s about a winning attitude. The early season schedule helped us get some momentum and a whole lot of confidence.”

That confidence will get a test in the next few days. After a game Friday at Milwaukee, the Wizards return home with little rest to face Phoenix (31-5) on Saturday. Then there’s a trip to Texas for back-to-back games against Southwest Division leaders San Antonio and Dallas.

“It’s a fragile season. The schedule is really uphill from here,” Jordan said. “We always said there’s going to be some tough times out there. Let’s see how we handle them.”