SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Washington Wizards activated guard Chris Whitney from the injured list Tuesday, and rookie forward Jarvis Hayes was placed on the list with a strained left hamstring.

Gilbert Arenas, the team's leading scorer at 20.1 points a game, had a sprained right ankle and did not dress for Tuesday night's game against Utah. Steve Blake, who scored a team-high 21 points in Sunday's 101-81 loss to Miami, started in Arenas' place.

Prior to going on the injured list with a left ankle sprain on Dec. 26, Whitney was averaging 3.9 points in his 10th NBA season.

Hayes, chosen 10th overall in the 2003 draft, is the team's fifth-leading scorer at 9.6 points a game. Hayes has played in 64 games, starting 39, and ranks sixth among all rookies in scoring.

The Washington Wizards could be propped up as exhibit A in an argument for the existence of curses, voodoo and black magic.

Once again, the Wizards tried to field a team with Jerry Stackhouse, Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes ? who missed 19 games with a fractured wrist before returning yesterday ? in the lineup, and once again they were thwarted.

Arenas, who missed 26 games with a severely strained abdominal muscle and groin injury, stuck around for just 22 scoreless minutes before leaving the game with a sprained right ankle (X-rays were negative) as the Miami Heat manhandled the Wizards 101-81. Washington was denied a three-game winning streak for the seventh time this season.

Through 69 games, Stackhouse (who only has played 18 games because of knee surgery), Arenas and Hughes have played just 11 games together.

"Somehow I knew. I knew it," Arenas said, fighting back laughter over the threesome's bad luck. "You get in a rhythm. It was my turn. I guess we're allowed to have two at a time. It was my turn to go out, and when I come back somebody else is going down. That's how it feels right now. I mean, I don't know what to say."

WASHINGTON (AP) Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes was activated from the injured list and started Sunday's game against Miami.

Hughes' return from a broken left wrist marked just the fourth game all season that the Wizards' three leading scorers _ Gilbert Arenas, Jerry Stackhouse and Hughes _ have played together. Arenas and Stackhouse have both missed extended time with injuries.

``Everybody, if you have a rabbit foot, just hold on to it,'' coach Eddie Jordan said before the game. ``If you believe in anything, superstitions, just keep saying it. If you believe in prayer, just pray for us _ that those three guys can stay on the floor the rest of the season. It'll be a joy to see.''

Hughes was averaging 18.7 points when he was placed on the injured list Feb. 11. To make room for his return, forward Lonny Baxter was placed on the injured list with right knee tendinitis.

Hughes' tender wrist could make his ball-handling suspect, but that makes him fit right in with a team that leads the league in turnovers.

``The ball may slip out of his hands once or twice,'' Jordan said. ``But, hey, just join the crowd.''

Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes, who has missed 19 games with a broken left wrist, says he is ready to play and expects to return to the lineup perhaps as soon as today against Miami at MCI Center.

"We'll see how it responds in the morning," coach Eddie Jordan said after Hughes participated in his second full-contact practice yesterday. "It might not even be a game-time decision. Maybe he'll feel all right in the morning and tell us that he's ready. He's ahead of schedule."

Whether he returns today against Miami or Tuesday at Utah, Hughes is expected to replace Mitchell Butler in the starting lineup.

"I'm more inclined to start him," Jordan said. "Mitchell is a real professional; he's real flexible. But he knows that ultimately when Larry is ready, Larry is going to be the starter."

NEW YORK (AP) Jerry Stackhouse was not in the starting lineup Tuesday night for the Washington Wizards, two weeks after he angered the team by unilaterally declaring he was finished for the season.

A team spokeswoman said the move was a coach's decision, and Stackhouse entered at the start of the second quarter against the New York Knicks.

Tension was evident between Stackhouse and coach Eddie Jordan during a timeout early in the second quarter when Stackhouse angrily left the team huddle and walked onto the court. Jordan shot him an angry look.

Stackhouse, who underwent offseason surgery on his right knee and missed the first three months of the season, played 41 minutes in each of Washington's two previous games. Before that, he sat out six games with tendinitis in both ankles.

Stackhouse was replaced in the starting five by Mitchell Butler, who made his first start of the season.

Washington, which entered with a season-high six game losing streak, also was without Jarvis Hayes (pulled hamstring) and Juan Dixon (elbow bursitis).

Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has claimed forward Lonny Baxter off waivers. The Toronto Raptors released the 6-8 forward on Sunday.

?Lonny has a great work ethic,? said Grunfeld. ?He is a young player who has gained valuable playing experience and adds nice depth to our front court.?    

Baxter joins former Maryland teammates Juan Dixon and Steve Blake on the Wizards with whom he helped lead the Terrapins to the 2002 NCAA Basketball Championship.

WASHINGTON (AP) Not so fast, Stack.

Two days after Jerry Stackhouse unilaterally declared himself out for the season, the Washington Wizards had him examined Monday and determined he wasn't even an immediate candidate for the injured list.

Stackhouse was found to have tendinitis in both ankles, something many NBA players have to some degree, and that there were no new problems with his surgically repaired right knee. Stackhouse did not play Monday night against New Orleans, and he will undergo therapy over the next few days.

``There's no structural damage,'' general manager Ernie Grunfeld said. ``He's not going to do any harm to his situation, but he does have inflammation and some pain right now, some soreness. We want to make sure everything calms down, and we'll go from there.''

Grunfeld said there was no timetable for Stackhouse's return, but he added that the team will take Stackhouse's word on how he's feeling, which does leave an opening for Stackhouse to sit out the remaining 24 games.

``Our main concern is to make sure that he's feeling good, and that he's able to get out there,'' Grunfeld said.

Stackhouse missed the first 45 games of the season during a longer-than-expected recovery from knee surgery, and he hasn't been able to regain his former explosiveness since his return. He's played in 12 games, averaging 14 points, and had 20 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

After the Lakers game, Stackhouse told his teammates and reporters he was done for the season _ without consulting with Wizards management beforehand. He said he was overcompensating for his injured knee, and he needed time to recover so he could ``get back to being Jerry Stackhouse.''

On Sunday, Grunfeld, who had just returned from a European scouting trip, met with Stackhouse to clear up the matter and set up Monday's examination.

Stackhouse was not available for comment before Monday's game.

Stackhouse was Washington's leading scorer last season, and the team rewarded him with a contract extension that will pay him $33 million over the next four seasons.