Before we get to the recap, I’d like to personally apologize for the curse we put on the Washington Wizards last week. We — along with poor defense, lack of rebounding and turnovers — were directly responsible for Washington’s three game losing streak. But, after tonight’s win against the Orlando Magic, the curse should be lifted.

Washington hasn’t looked great this season. After they beat the San Antonio Spurs at home, most thought they would have the necessary momentum to go on a winning streak. Of course, that’s not what happened.

Randy Wittman‘s club dropped three straight to the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder. Tonight’s game against the Magic, who were .500 coming into the nation’s capital, wasn’t easy. Scott Skiles has motivated his team and the young Magic will push for a spot in the NBA Playoffs.

To start the game, Washington struggled defensively once again.

Nikola Vucevic lit Marcin Gortat up on the offensive end of the floor and Evan Fournier got to the basket at will. Victor Oladipo and Bradley Beal both missed tonight’s game, but the reserves did a solid job of filling the void for each respective club.

Orlando made 10 of their first 12 shots and some were visibly irritated with the big men. The Wizards were a physical team with great rim protection prior to this season, but that physicality seems to have evaporated — or at least it did in the first half.

Washington found themselves down by six at halftime, but they were very much in the game. It’s really all a matter of applying themselves defensively. For the most part, John Wall, Beal and Otto Porter have done a solid job defensively. They’ve gotten beat off the dribble more than we’ve become accustomed to, but they’ve hustled and provided transition defense.

The guards turned it up defensively in the second half and it set the tone for the rest of the team.

Garrett Temple, in particular, was masterful on the defensive end of the floor. He forced Fournier into some tough shots and caused turnovers, creating easy baskets in transition.

Temple also gave the team a much needed spark in the scoring department with Beal out.

He got the start in his absence, and I was skeptical.

Clearly, Wittman knew something I didn’t.

He ended up scoring a career-high 18 points.

It’ll be interesting to see how Wittman balances the minutes between Temple and Gary Neal, who’s been up-and-down this season as well.

Once Washington got a few consecutive stops in the second half, it gave them an opportunity to open the game up. John Wall blistered Orlando off misses and Kris Humphries benefited from his passing.

Humphries, who’s looked uncomfortable in his new role as the team’s stretch four, was fantastic tonight. He knocked down five of his eight three point tries, including one to secure the victory for the Washington Wizards. Humphries scored a team-high 23 points and blocked a few shots too.

He needs to do a better job on the glass, but Porter has stepped up in that regard. Porter grabbed 10 and stole the ball three times as well. He’s doing all the little things, making up for what the Wizards are missing from Humphries.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Nene’s impact off the bench. He missed last game with a minor injury and seemed very well rested tonight.

The big Brazilian orchestrated the team’s offense off the bench, scoring 9 points and dishing out 3 assists. His impact is going to be felt on the court more than it will on the stat sheet. He did a great job forcing the Magic’s defense to work and distributed the ball to the guards extremely well.

Nene’s impact is often forgotten about, but when he’s healthy and engaged, he’s capable of making a legitimate difference. Tonight, that was the case.

Wall closed the game out for Washington. He made a few shots inside and iced it with free throws. The franchise point guard added 15 points and 11 assists. Wall was clearly tired throughout most of the game, but still pushed himself. With Beal out, Wall has been forced to carry much of the responsibility on offense.

So, there you have it. The curse is over. Again, we apologize.

Washington still has to do a better job defensively. They have to play with the same amount of intensity as they’ve played with in fourth quarters throughout 48 minutes. The Wizards gave up 99 points to an Oladipo-less Magic team. Regardless, they still got the “w”. On to the next one; Tuesday night against the Bucks.