Nesby Experiences a Haunting Defeat

WASHINGTON —  Throughout his two-plus seasons with the Clippers, Tyrone Nesby experienced numerous dismal defeats. Now, Nesby is a Washington Wizard and Wednesday night he experienced one of the worst defeats of his pro career when his former team rallied from a 21-point deficit to win, 93-88, at MCI Center.

“It’s still a good experience being here but this was a game we should have won,” said Nesby, who was traded for Cherokee Parks and Obinna Ekezie (who has since been waived) on Nov. 28. “We started laying back, not playing as hard. We stopped helping each other out on defense.”

For Nesby, the loss put a damper on his best game as a Wizard. In his first start for Washington, Nesby had eight points, six rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes.

“You could see it in people’s eyes that we stopped [competing],” he said. “Guys were missing and were not upset. You could see the little things that change a team. I know from experience [with the Clippers].”

Parks, who had two points in six minutes, said it was weird watching his former team collapse.

“It’s been awhile since I played on a team that came back and won a game like this,” he said. “Watching us make a run and follow through with a win is really something special. It was great to see our young fellows step up and make shots like they did.”

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When Corey Maggette made his first start with the Clippers, he didn’t play too well or too long in an overtime loss to Phoenix. Maggette was 0 for 4 from the field and went scoreless in 14 minutes.

It was a different story in his second start. With Lamar Odom not in the starting lineup for disciplinary reasons, Maggette had 18 points, six rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes. He kept the Clippers in the game with 13 points in the third quarter.

“I just wanted to help out any way I could,” Maggette said. “I wanted to bring some energy. I was hoping that it would rub off on the team and it did. It may not have right away, but it did in the fourth quarter. You could see it with Keyon [Dooling], who played with great energy, and Lamar Odom, who made some big shots at the end.”

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Gentry said Odom’s team violation was not serious and that the 21-year-old team captain understands his mistake.

“I wasn’t myself after the loss to the Knicks,” said Odom, a Queens, N.Y., native who missed only six minutes of Wednesday’s victory over Washington. “I didn’t handle things the way I should have. It won’t happen again.”