Josh Howard started the game tonight on a tear as he went 3-3 from the field while scoring Washington’s first nine points of the game. While watching this unfold I couldn’t help but cringe as thoughts of a 40 plus point night danced in my head.

Cue the Antoine Wright show.

Sure, his 19 points on 7-10 shooting is impressive and will catch fans attention while skimming the stat sheet, but his real contribution came on the defensive end. After Wright was substituted into the game midway through the first quarter Howard went 2-14 from the field and struggled to score his remaining eight points.

“I Just tried to make it tough on him,” Wright told me after the game. “I tried to shield him to go to where the help was and tried to get into him a little bit. I just wanted to be physical with him.”

What could have been a nightmare was averted because Wright knew his former teammate tendencies while utilizing a technique that worked perfectly to slow down the talented Howard.

“Obviously I practiced and played with him a lot,” Wright explained to Hoops Addict. “I know some of the moves he likes to use but a guy like that is talented and the thing you have to do is really rely on your help. You need to try to bring him to the crowded side  and make him think that there are more guys there.”

It was a simple change in approach but it’s one that managed to cool down Washington’s first option on offense and was a big factor in Toronto’s win tonight.

Even if Wright wasn’t willing to take credit for his defense, it’s clear the way he approached guarding Howard made a big difference in the game. Even when Weems or Turkoglu was stuck guarding Howard this kind of mindset was used by those two players and played big dividends for Toronto.

Chalk this up to one of the many ways the savvy veteran Wright is making a difference on the court for Toronto this  season.