The soft-spoken Lithuanian known simply as "Z" persevered, and as the only Cleveland player remaining from the Cavs' last playoff team, he's savoring every point, rebound and win this season.
"Since we got LeBron, the excitement around here has been unbelievable," he said. "The people in Cleveland deserve that. They finally got a winner."
Wizards 114, Kings 108
Kwame Brown had career-highs of 30 points and 19 rebounds while playing all 48 minutes Wednesday night as the Washington Wizards snapped a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Sacramento Kings 114-108.
"He just has a big confidence aura about himself, just taking the ball to the basket," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. "He was real sharp with his post moves, his face-ups and finishing at the rim. He was really sharp."
Brown shot 12-for-16 from the field and 6-for-7 from the line, including two free throws with 23.6 seconds left to give the Wizards a 113-105 lead.
"I just felt confident tonight. I hit a couple of shots, and I felt like I couldn't miss. I wanted the ball every time down," Brown said.
Gilbert Arenas had 27 points, 10 assists, a career-high eight steals and five rebounds. He also played the full game for Washington, which lost at New York in overtime on Tuesday night.
Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points and Mike Bibby added 20 as the Kings lost their third in a row.
Celtics 104, Nuggets 100
In Boston, Paul Pierce had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Mark Blount and Chucky Atkins also had double-doubles as Boston downed Denver on St. Patrick's Day.
Wearing green road uniforms, green socks and green headbands to celebrate the holiday, Blount had 17 points with 15 rebounds and Atkins had 21 points and 10 assists. Pierce also had seven assists for the Celtics, who remained in ninth place in the East.
Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and nine rebounds, Nene had 12 and 10 and Voshon Lenard scored 19 for the Nuggets, who are struggling to hold onto the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Raptors 85, Jazz 81
In Toronto, Vince Carter scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, as Toronto knocked Utah back to .500.
Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall each added 17 points for the Raptors, who began the day in 10th place in the East. Toronto is 2-0 since Rose returned to the lineup.
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