After a three game losing streak, who would have thought a match up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the second best record in the NBA going into Saturday night, would be just what the doctor ordered for the Washington Wizards? Both teams were coming off games on Friday; the Wiz lost at Detroit and the Cavs pounded the hapless Timberwolves at home. In this topsy turvy start to the NBA season, the Cavs have looked good early but recently lost their $60 million man, Larry Hughes - remember him?- to a sprained ankle. Or as The Sports Guy would say, "he has an ankle."

The Cavs stormed out of the gate early, building a seven point lead as Eric Snow racked up six assists in the first quarter alone. The Wiz looked a little tired but stayed within single digits of the Cavs and waited to make their move. The first 15 minutes of the game were rather unremarkable, but the fans got what they paid for from there on out.

It began in the second quarter when Gilbert Arenas (who else?) started dueling with LeBron James. For much of the second and third quarters, whenever James would score or feed a teammate for an easy bucket, Gilbert would come right back at the Cavs with quick jumpers or forays to the bucket. And it worked. Gil scored 15 in the second period to give the Wiz a four point lead going into the half. The Cavs left their A-game in the locker room after the break as the Wiz almost doubled the Cavs point total - 31 to 16 - and put the game away in the third. Arenas dropped 17 points in the quarter and the Wiz blew the game open leading by as much as 19. The Cavs looked tired and uninterested, seemingly counting down the time until their flight back home.

I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out why the Cavs didn't continue feeding Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the post, since he ate up the size-challenged Wiz to the tune of 16 points on 6-8 shooting from the field in just 22 minutes. Things got so bad for the Cavs that there was a Scott Pollard sighting very early in the fourth. Garbage time soon took a bad turn, however, when Jarvis Hayes took a nasty fall after trying to block Shannon Brown on a breakaway attempt. Hayes lay on the court for a good ten minutes and his teammates gathered around him as the venue's medical staff loaded him onto a stretcher and took him to the hospital. He suffered a bruised back and is listed as day-to-day after being released on Saturday. The win leaves the Wiz at 4-5 and tied for third place in the Southeast Division with the Miami Heat.

Both Darius Songaila and the Wizard's shiny new gold-and-black uni's made their first appearance at the MCI Center during the game. Songaila spent the game at the end of the bench in a sharp suit, but I'm sure if you ask Eddie Jordan (and I will next game, if I remember), he can't wait to see Songaila on the court; the Wizards bench was outscored 50-15 by the Cavs bench. Watching Agent Zero drop 45 points (shooting an incredible 7-11 from three point land) is lots of fun, but for the Wiz to win consistently this season, the bench needs to step up their game. If Hayes misses any action, look for Jordan to turn to Roger Mason Jr. to see if he can provide some much needed scoring.

Washington hits the road for three of their four games this week. They start out tomorrow in Dallas before hitting Houston on Wednesday and Memphis on Friday. They return home Saturday looking to avenge their loss to Detroit.