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Bench Warmer
Gilbert Arenas waited a while to put up a shot Friday night. Once he finally began hoisting jumpers and driving through the lane with abandon, he didn't miss.
Taking another step in his comeback, Gilbert Arenas had 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting -- all in the third quarter -- and nine assists in the Washington Wizards' 123-115 exhibition loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Arenas played 21 minutes and showed flashes of the flair and explosiveness that made him a three-time All-Star before he was a three-time surgery patient.
Shawn Marion scored 26 points in his debut for the Mavericks after sitting out their preseason opener with a calf injury.
Wizards center Brendan Haywood left in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle and did not return.
Jason Kidd had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 25 minutes for Dallas, while Dirk Nowitzki and first-round draft pick Rodrigue Beaubois both added 14 points.
Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison scored 19 apiece for Washington.
The teams open the regular season against each other at Dallas on Oct. 27, so neither coach wanted to show the other too much.
Still, this was Washington's lone preseason appearance at its home arena, and the announced crowd of 8,102 clearly wanted to see how Arenas would fare, given that he only played 15 games in the past two seasons combined. The point guard had three operations on his left knee in about 1 1/2 years.
Midway through the first quarter, as the shot clock ran down, Arenas stood atop the 3-point line, dribbling. So fans began shouting, "Shoot!" He opted instead to dish to Butler for an open jumper at the buzzer.
When Arenas went to the sideline 9:12 into the game, he had four assists and more personal fouls -- one -- than field-goal attempts.
But Arenas returned and played the entire third quarter. He was far more active and seemed far more interested in the proceedings, accounting -- via basket or assist -- for Washington's first 12 points of the second half.
He threw an alley-oop pass for Andray Blatche on Washington's first possession. He made a 21-foot jumper on his first field-goal attempt, 1:46 into the quarter. He assisted on DeShawn Stevenson's 3-pointer. He drove past Kidd for a layup. He passed to Jamison for a 3.
And later, when Arenas barreled through the lane and made a layup while getting fouled and bumped to the floor, he got right up. The spectators roared.
Taking another step in his comeback, Gilbert Arenas had 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting -- all in the third quarter -- and nine assists in the Washington Wizards' 123-115 exhibition loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Arenas played 21 minutes and showed flashes of the flair and explosiveness that made him a three-time All-Star before he was a three-time surgery patient.
Shawn Marion scored 26 points in his debut for the Mavericks after sitting out their preseason opener with a calf injury.
Wizards center Brendan Haywood left in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle and did not return.
Jason Kidd had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 25 minutes for Dallas, while Dirk Nowitzki and first-round draft pick Rodrigue Beaubois both added 14 points.
Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison scored 19 apiece for Washington.
The teams open the regular season against each other at Dallas on Oct. 27, so neither coach wanted to show the other too much.
Still, this was Washington's lone preseason appearance at its home arena, and the announced crowd of 8,102 clearly wanted to see how Arenas would fare, given that he only played 15 games in the past two seasons combined. The point guard had three operations on his left knee in about 1 1/2 years.
Midway through the first quarter, as the shot clock ran down, Arenas stood atop the 3-point line, dribbling. So fans began shouting, "Shoot!" He opted instead to dish to Butler for an open jumper at the buzzer.
When Arenas went to the sideline 9:12 into the game, he had four assists and more personal fouls -- one -- than field-goal attempts.
But Arenas returned and played the entire third quarter. He was far more active and seemed far more interested in the proceedings, accounting -- via basket or assist -- for Washington's first 12 points of the second half.
He threw an alley-oop pass for Andray Blatche on Washington's first possession. He made a 21-foot jumper on his first field-goal attempt, 1:46 into the quarter. He assisted on DeShawn Stevenson's 3-pointer. He drove past Kidd for a layup. He passed to Jamison for a 3.
And later, when Arenas barreled through the lane and made a layup while getting fouled and bumped to the floor, he got right up. The spectators roared.
