They shot the ball poorly from the field, but remained close to the Clippers by out rebounding them and shooting 79% from the free throw line. The Clippers went ahead 92-87 on a Nick Fazekas bank shot with 2:31 remaining in regulation and the Wizards faithful began to file out of the arena. The Wizards kept scrapping though and found themselves behind 98-94 with 7 seconds left in the 4th quarter.
It was at this point that L.A. did what losing teams do...fail to close out the game. They allowed Antawn Jamison to make a 3-point shot with 4 seconds left to cut the deficit to 1. After a pair of Tim Thomas free throws made the score 100-97 Cuttino Mobley did the unthinkable. He fouled Antawn Jamison on a 3-point attempt. Somebody please explain to me the reasoning behind the NBA's ball advancement rule following a timeout. Washington called timeout after the Thomas free throws and was then able to advance the ball across half court for the throw-in. This made it much easier for the Wizards to set up the play that resulted in Mobley's ill-timed foul. Why do the best athletes in the world need this extra advantage? How in the world could Cuttino Mobley foul Jamison on a 3-point attempt? Even more surprising than that was the fact that Jamison made all three free throws.
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The game goes into overtime and the Wizards rode that wave of momentum to a stunning 119-109 victory. This game went from one of those you look back on and say..."if we had won that game..." to one that makes you think "winning this game gave us so much confidence" I was prepared to write about how disappointing this loss was, but had to change my focus. This was an impressive win. Brendan Haywood was a late scratch from the line-up due to a sore knee. Caron Butler was playing only his second game in the past month and Gilbert Arenas has been out of action since November.
Coach Eddie Jordan should be considered for coach of the year. Nobody has done more with less this season. The silver lining in the cloud that is the Wizards injury situation is that Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Dominic McGuire have gotten valuable minutes and all have made significant contributions this season.
The latest news on the Arenas watch is that Agent zero is set to undergo an MRI exam on his left knee Monday, the results of which will determine if he is ready for game action. Arenas is understandably concerned with re-injuring himself and missing out on a huge pay day this summer. Here is my two cents. If he is not 100% healthy he shouldn't play. If his knee is structurally sound and pain-free he should play. Arenas loves to play basketball. He'd play for free. In fact he did play for free as a rookie in Golden State. He wasn't getting much playing time so he began playing in a recreation league in the Oakland area. When the Warriors found out they made him stop. There is a lot more at stake for Arenas this time around but he has made more than $50M in the past five years so if he is hurting for money right now, shame on him.
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