CHICAGO — Rarely is a missed shot in the middle of a humdrum January game so notable.



Troy Brown had just picked up a loose ball midway through the third quarter of last week’s win against the Celtics. The only man between him and the rim was human shrapnel Marcus Smart.



Brown excels when he grabs defensive rebounds or loose balls and takes off from there. He searches for teammates down-court and looks to rainbow dish while on the run. But he rarely challenges defenders one-on-one in those situations. Often, Brown will turn down riskier fast breaks, instead of pulling back and waiting for the Wizards to set up their halfcourt offense. But he hasn’t done that as much lately — and, most certainly, he wasn’t doing it on this night.



Brown had Smart one-on-one. He drove into him and rose. The failed dunk clanked off the back of the hoop and ricocheted to Washington guard Jordan McRae for an and-one putback.



But...