"As coach Flip Saunders said Tuesday night, Gilbert Arenas "did his talking on the court."

Arenas, who was reluctant to speak to the media in the preseason, fielded questions from reporters after the game but was not interested in talking about himself. When asked about his performance - 29 points and nine assists in the Washington Wizards' 102-91 season-opening victory over Dallas - he said, "I did fine." Later it was, "I felt fine."

But when asked about his teammates - particularly offseason acquisitions Fabricio Oberto and Randy Foye - Arenas had no problem giving his take. His teammates praised the three-time All-Star for making the game easy for them, but Arenas credited Oberto and Foye for easing his load.

Oberto started in place of injured forward Antawn Jamison. Although his final stat line read five points, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes, he made an impact in other ways: defending, setting picks and making impressive passes to set up teammates for easy baskets.

And according to the increasingly popular plus-minus statistic, Oberto posted an impressive plus-15.

"He gives us that [balance] that we didn't have in the past: a veteran big who knows how to play the game of basketball," Arenas said. "He showed us in the preseason, and he showed it again today. He's just going to fight and do whatever it takes to win."

Arenas and Oberto hooked up on a sweet give-and-go late in the fourth quarter. Arenas dumped the ball down low to Oberto and immediately cut to the basket. Oberto made an outstanding wraparound bounce pass that split two defenders and hit Arenas in stride. The guard went up for an easy layup that restored a 10-point lead.

"Fab is the ultimate teammate," center Brendan Haywood said. "He's the guy that every winning team needs. He plays hard, practices hard, doesn't care about his stats, doesn't care about self, is always in the right place. To be successful, every team needs an Oberto, and we're just glad we have one." "