Long break doesn't faze Wiz

Eddie Jordan had never seen anything like it. The coach of the Washington Wizards was pleased with the way his team had played through the first two quarters Thursday night in the Delta Center.

But it seemed like the halftime — honoring Karl Malone — would never end.

"It was the first time I'd ever gone through something like that," said Jordan. "In all these years in basketball and in the NBA, I'd never had a halftime that long, just sitting there — especially when you'd been playing well for 24 minutes and had a 11-point lead."

The Wizards' lead at the half was actually nine, not 11, but either way, Jordan need not have worried.

Washington was just as hot in the second half. The Wizards burned the Jazz with a franchise-record 16 3-point shots in just 25 attempts for 64 percent as a team to win the game 109-97.

After all was said and done, Jordan thinks the long halftime may have actually helped his team.

The long halftime "hurt the crowd. I think all the steam was let out of the fans," he said.

Antawn Jamison nailed 7 treys in a dozen attempts, Gilbert Arenas made six of his eight tries from beyond the arc and Caron Butler was 2-for-3.

"Antawn was on fire in the first half and me an Caron came on in the second," said Arenas, who finised with a team-high 31 points.

"We made shots," said Jordan. "That's what the NBA is all about."

Arenas had been trying to drive the ball to the hoop, but was called for carrying the ball on consecutive occasions.

"They kept calling carries on me so I said, 'forget that. I'm just going to start shooting threes,'" said Arenas.

The Wizards seemed to relish putting a damper on the Malone festivities, but they still have plenty of respect for the retired Jazz star.

"For players in this league, that is your role model," said Arenas of Malone. "You want to be a player like him. He's a stand-up guy. I was happy they put a statue of him outside the building, along with John Stockton, because he deserves it."

Added Butler, "(Malone) was great and was a great ambassador for the game. He is one of my favorite players of all time."

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