127-105. Yeah, it was that bad. Worse even. So much for all the talk about "swag" and "tough juice." Only time will tell if last night's shellacking at the hand of the Phoenix Suns will start the backlash on the hype and attention the Wizards have earned this year, but boy was it ugly. The crowd of 20,173, not to mention the huge media contingent, came to the Verizon Center last night be entertained and watch two of the best teams in the NBA, but Phoenix was the one providing most the ooh's and aah's.

The Suns scored early and often in the first quarter, quickly turning an early 6-6 tie into a 28-12 Wizards deficit that only grew as the game wore on. The Suns hit six three pointers in the quarter, just one less than the number of field goals mustered by the Wizards. Washington's 33 percent field goal percentage - on 7-21 shooting - actually went down in the second quarter before Gilbert Arenas started to heat up and make the score somewhat respectable. Phoenix was running their fun-and-gun offense to perfection, getting open looks at threes off of dribble penetration and seemingly hitting everything they threw at the rim. They were getting in the lane with impunity and scoring so quickly that the Verizon center PA announcer was having a hard time telling the difference between James and Jumaine Jones.

Halftime couldn't come quick enough. Phoenix hit another five threes in the second and had six players in double digits by the time the horn sounded, leading to a 25 point Suns advantage. Steve Nash was a perfect 7 for 7 from the field at that point. During the break, a teenager sitting near me in a Nash jersey called his Mom to excitedly proclaim "We're totally kicking their ass!" The sad thing was, he was right.

Photos by Kyle Gustafson. More here.

The second half was more of the same, with the Suns breaking 100 points with their last basket of the third quarter. Caron Butler and Arenas led a late charge, and the crowd was certainly trying to will them on, but the home team could pull no closer than 14 points. Head coach Eddie Jordan tried a number of looks - zone, small ball, etc. - but nothing worked. The Suns came out blazing and never looked back, a stark contrast to the two teams' previous matchup.

A look at the stats will tell you everything you need to know about this game. With 27 points on 11-13 shooting and 14 assists, Steve Nash went a long way in proving who is the MVP, something that Arenas, to his credit, has never argued. Six other Suns - Bell, Stoudemire, Diaw, Marion, Barbosa and James Jones - scored in double figures. Barbosa added 11 assists of his own. The Wizards as a team tallied only 14.

Antonio Daniels provided the silver lining for the Wizards, scoring 20 points by continually attacking the rim. Arenas finished with 31 and Butler with 24. Brendan Haywood collected 12 rebounds, continuing his good play of late.

After the game, the Wizards gave the Suns all the credit they deserved. "Tonight we got a chance to go up and down and let the horses go, and they beat us at their game. They hit shots. They were running. The first five minutes we weren't running like we said we were going to run," Arenas said. "They played pretty much the perfect game that first half." Arenas and the Wizards will have to regroup before heading to Detroit to take on a tough Pistons team tomorrow night.