LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Juwan Howard has taken plenty of heat
for his inconsistent play in recent years. But he is still good
enough to take advantage of a couple of kids.

Howard scored 26 of his season-high 31 points in the second half
to help the Washington Wizards snap a nine-game losing streak
with a 103-94 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The 6-10 Howard made 13-of-20 shots as he worked over forwards
Lamar Odom and Darius Miles, who had neither the experience nor
the size to control him. Howard either muscled them down into
the low post or stepped out on the floor for mid-range jumpers.

"They couldn't tonight, no matter what, they could not stop us,
what we did offensively," Howard said.

In the third quarter, Howard scored 16 points, including 12 in
the final 5 1/2 minutes after the Clippers had pulled within two
points. He added 10 more in the fourth quarter, when Washington
pulled away.

Once on the verge of becoming a star, Howard came in averaging
14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, numbers which do not
justify the seven-year, $105 million contract he signed in 1996.

He is one of many Wizards who has been a disapppointment and has
been mentioned in trade rumors, although his contract makes that
almost impossible.

"It's been a very frustrating month for us all," Howard said.
"When you're losing, nobody's happy, no one's having fun,
especially when you have a lot of pride and you care.

"This team cares. There's been a lot of things written about
us, even from the president of the team (Michael Jordan). It
doesn't feel good but you can only win as a team, not with one
or two individuals. As the captain, it hurts."

Richard Hamilton matched a career high with 30 points for the
Wizards, who won for the first time since November 25 against
Milwaukee and improved to 5-19, the worst record in the Eastern
Conference.

"It feels great to get the monkey off our back," Howard said.
"We needed that win. Hopefully, this victory can start off a
string."

One loss during the slide came at home against the Clippers on
December 6 in which they blew a 20-point lead in the fourth
quarter. But Washington beat Los Angeles on the road for the
sixth straight time.

"The team morale was kind of down," guard Rod Strickland said.
"We've been losing tough games. We just needed a victory
against whoever. We remember what happened in DC against these
guys. We wanted to change what happened against them."

Howard and Hamilton became the first pair of Wizards to score 30
points in the same game since Strickland and Chris Webber did it
February 24, 1998 against Houston.

"My teammates, they set good screens for me," Hamilton said. "I
mixed it up, I tried to keep them off balance."

Odom, a second-year player, scored 20 points and Miles, a
rookie, added 14 for the Clippers (8-18), the worst team in the
Western Conference. They failed in a bid for their second
two-game winning streak of the season.

"We wanted to build off the Phoenix win but with a young team,
the yo-yo effect will occur," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said.
"We're not the type of team that can win without our `A' game."

Los Angeles pulled within 59-57 on two free throws by Michael
Olowokandi with 5:35 remaining before Howard took over. He hit
a pair of hook shots and a layup to rebuild the lead to 67-59
with 3:01 left.

Howard made four free throws around a dunk by Miles and sank a
14-footer to keep the advantage at 75-68 in the final minute of
the period.

The Clippers closed to 77-72 entering the fourth quarter and
still were within 81-76 after two free throws by Miles with 8:50
to play. The Wizards responded with a 12-2 run capped by a dunk
by Howard that sealed it at 93-78 with 4:39 to go.

Strickland had 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the
Wizards, who shot 44 percent (39-of-89) and committed a
season-low eight turnovers.

"When the guys (Hamilton and Howard) are hot, you have to go to
them," Strickland said. "We took advantage of the mismatch.
Tonight, we played together as a team."