WASHINGTON – Caron Butler fed Antawn Jamison for a dunk, then reached out to slap palms with Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, an in-game celebration of an easy win.
At the other end, SuperSonics coach Bob Weiss put his hands on his hips, looking increasingly frustrated by another poor road showing.
Gilbert Arenas scored 32 points in 31 minutes, Butler added a season-high 24, and Washington pulled away early then kept pouring it on to beat Seattle 137-96 Friday night, the SuperSonics’ third consecutive lopsided loss away from home.
Jamison added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie Andray Blatche – who missed the preseason after being shot during an attempted carjacking – scored his first NBA points, on a baseline jumper with about four minutes left, and finished with five.
Washington hadn’t broken 100 points in a full game this season but reached that mark with 2:04 left in the third quarter, on a running jumper by Butler, a reserve who came over from the Lakers in the Kwame Brown trade.
It’s the first time since a Feb. 22, 2000, game against Milwaukee that Washington scored at least 100 before the fourth quarter. The Wizards’ point total also eclipsed their MCI Center record of 126 from that 2000 game. The arena opened in December 1997.
Washington (4-1) broke the game open by outscoring Seattle 42-24 in the second quarter, when the SuperSonics went only 3-of-16 on field-goal attempts. The Wizards went up by as many as 25 points in the first half, led 71-49 at the break, and never let Seattle back in it.
Arenas scored 13 points in the third quarter and left to a loud ovation with 1:12 left in the period, when Washington went up by as many as 36.
Seattle, a second-round playoff team last season but now 1-4, never got closer than 20 in the second half. The SuperSonics are on a season-long six-game road trip and have dropped the first three – by 25, 27 and 41 points.
Rashard Lewis, who left Wednesday’s defeat at Cleveland with a left shoulder injury, started against Washington and scored 17 points. Ray Allen also had 17, but he was 4-for-14 from the floor.
Before the game, first-year Seattle coach Weiss talked about trying to deal with the team’s poor start, saying: “It definitely concerns you and affects you as a head coach. If I take my time, step back, I know we’re going to be OK. But let’s go, let’s get it going.”
He spent a good chunk of the first half working the refs (he was charged with a technical foul), calling timeouts and shuttling players in and out – anything to try to get his team going. Nothing worked.
Seattle allowed Washington to run its fast-break offense at will, and had all sorts of trouble scoring. The SuperSonics wound up shooting 40 percent for the game; they haven’t topped 45 percent this season.
Notes: Wizards forward/center Michael Ruffin missed the game with the flu. … Seattle’s Vladimir Radmanovic sought out Weiss for a private meeting before the game to clear the air. Radmanovic complained to reporters Tuesday that he wasn’t getting enough minutes. “He came in and asked to speak tonight and said all he wants to do is win and he wants to put all that stuff aside,” Weiss said. … Washington hosts San Antonio on Saturday; it’s the first time the Wizards have played home games on consecutive nights since March 4-5, 2003.
AP-ES-11-11-05 2207EST
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