Washington, DC (Basketball News) - Damon Jones’ jumper from the corner with 4.8 seconds left in overtime boosted the Cavaliers into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, as Cleveland topped Washington, 114-113, in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Jones, who hadn’t played at all in the contest until he was inserted with 14.1 seconds left, made the most of his opportunity to send the Cavaliers to a conference semifinal matchup with top-seeded Detroit, starting Sunday at the Palace.
LeBron James totaled 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who won the series 4-2 and did it by rallying from a seven-point deficit with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Cavs won three games in the series by a point, including the last two in overtime.
"Right now we’re not prepared to play Detroit," James said. "We’ve been so focused on trying to close out Washington. We have one day to prepare for them."
James converted a layup with less than a second left to win Game 5 in OT, 121-120. He also put in the winning layup with 5.7 seconds left in a 97-96 win in Game 3 of the series at the Verizon Center.
"This is probably one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time," James added. "It took me two years to get here and to finally be a part of it, I just didn’t want to just come here and be happy to just be in the playoffs. I wanted to try and win a playoff series and we did a great job of doing that."
Donyell Marshall totaled 28 points and eight boards, and Flip Murray added 21 points for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who had dropped their last four first- round series. They’re in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 1993 when the Cavs were swept by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls.
Gilbert Arenas had 36 points and 11 assists for Washington, but missed two crucial free throws in the closing seconds of OT to give the Cavs a chance. Caron Butler chipped in 18 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. Antonio Daniels had 22 points in a losing cause.
Ahead by a point in the extra session, Arenas had a chance to extend Washington’s lead with 15.1 seconds left, but he missed two foul shots. After a timeout, James broke a double-team and got the ball to Larry Hughes, who passed to Jones in the left corner for the winning shot.
"I knew the ball would fall into my hands because they were double teaming the whole second half, trying to get the ball out of LeBron’s hands and making other people make plays," Jones said. "I’ve never come off the bench like that, and had one possession to make a shot."
Butler’s long shot from the right wing caromed off the rim as time expired.
"It was one of those nights the basketball gods weren’t with us in the series," Arenas said. "We lose three games to game-winning shots."
Washington held a 101-94 lead with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers responded with an 11-1 run, finished by two free throws from Eric Snow with 14.7 seconds left.
Daniels hit two from the charity stripe with 10.3 seconds showing before Murray hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds left to extend the Cavs to a 107-104 lead. Arenas then had the ball knocked out of bounds in the right corner in Cleveland’s end. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Arenas drilled a long three-pointer from the right wing to tie the game.
The Cavaliers made a crucial mistake, as Anderson Varejao accidentally inbounded the ball and James called a timeout. Instead of getting the ball at halfcourt, the Cavs were forced to go the length of the court, and Antawn Jamison intercepted the final pass before missing a desperation heave from half court.
Two free throws from Butler moved the Wizards to a 113-112 lead with 30.2 seconds left in OT and Snow then turned the ball over on a high pass that sailed out of bounds. However, Arenas failed from the free throw line, with James talking to his foe.
"I told Gilbert if he missed both free throws the game was over," James said. "Simple as that."
Washington led by as many as 14 points in the opening quarter at 24-10, but the Cavs then scored the final seven of the period.
"We didn’t think it was going to be a blowout," Arenas said. "We knew it was going to go down to a last-second shot because it’s been like that the whole series."
Cleveland trailed 49-48 at the half, and the third quarter remained tight throughout with Washington holding a 76-75 edge going into the fourth.
Cleveland Cavaliers 
Washington Wizards 
