CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Singleton and Cartier Martin were playing in China the last time the Washington Wizards played the Charlotte Bobcats.
This time around they played a huge role in helping the Wizards complete a three-game sweep of their division foe.
Singleton and Martin, both working under 10-day contracts, combined for 37 points and 18 rebounds as the Wizards routed the Bobcats 113-85 in a matchup of the NBA’s two worst teams. Singleton scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Martin had 19 points and six boards.
Just last week Singleton was playing in the Chinese Basketball Association finals for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. He had no clue at the time just how bad the Bobcats were until he looked at the NBA standings on the chalkboard before the game.
“I looked up and I saw 7-47 and I said, ’really?’” Singleton said.
Washington, playing without starters Nene and Rashard Lewis, got 67 points from its reserves.
Jordan Crawford led the Wizards with 20 points despite playing just 21 minutes. Jan Vesely had his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and John Wall scored just two points but had 12 assists.
It may have been a new low in Bobcats history losing by 28 points at home to the second-worst team in the league while getting blistered by a pair of guys on 10-day contracts.
Martin said playing on a 10-day contract is “stressful,” but something he can’t worry about.
“You feel like you have a lot of pressure on you at times, but when you’re on the floor you don’t think about being on a 10-day,” Martin said. “You just go out there and play basketball. Basketball is a game of instincts, so you just have to go out and play.”
Added Singleton: “If you’re here for 10 days or two days, just go out and have fun.”
Both said they’re still learning the team’s plays.
“Maybe we shouldn’t even have practice with the way those two guys played tonight,” coach Randy Wittman joked after the game.
Martin had a brief stint with the Bobcats in 2008-09 as part of a separate 10-day contract but was never offered a full deal.
“I definitely added a little bit to my game since then, being able to put the ball on the floor and trying to create my own shots,” Martin said. “I just come in and do what they ask me to do.”
Corey Maggette scored 23 points for the Bobcats, who lost their 12th straight. Charlotte has to win three of its final 11 games to reach the 10-win plateau.
On the positive side, the Bobcats took a step closer to securing the worst record in the league and the best chance at the No. 1 pick in NBA draft lottery on May 30. Any combination of six Washington wins or Bobcats losses would assure Charlotte the best shot at the top pick.
However, having the worst record doesn’t guarantee the Bobcats the No. 1 selection. In eight of the last 10 years the team with the worst record has failed to secure the top pick despite having the best odds.
This one was over almost as soon as it began as the Wizards jumped out to an 8-0 lead, hitting their first four shots from the field and prompting Charlotte’s Stephen Silas — substituting again for his father Paul as head coach — to call an early timeout to regroup.
However, it did little to stop the momentum as the Wizards extended the lead to 23 points in the second quarter after two 3-pointers from Martin. Washington led 60-40 at halftime and opened a 32-point lead in the fourth quarter, scoring frequently on fast-break layups.
The Bobcats trailed by double digits for the last 32:53 of the game.
“We just started bad from the get-go and it stayed that way throughout the game,” said Bobcats guard Kemba Walker. “It was just a bad one overall.”
Washington shot 48 percent from the field and outrebounded the lifeless Bobcats 48-39.
“We knew it was going to be an effort game,” Stephen Silas said. “Throughout the game I told the guys that if we were going to win this game we were going to have to do all of the things we practiced and all of the things we work on every day. We didn’t do those things and as a result we lost. It’s something we have to learn from.”
NOTES: Together the two teams had seven players out due to injuries. The Wizards were without Nene, Andray Blatche, Trevor Booker and Rashard Lewis, while the Bobcats were without D.J. Augustin, Eduardo Najera and Reggie Williams. … If you combine the teams’ 20 wins this season they’re still fewer than 24 NBA teams. … It’s the 16th time this season Crawford has scored 20 points in a game.
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