NBA Game Summary - Charlotte at Washington

Washington, DC (Basketball News) - Antawn Jamison’s basket with one second remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Washington Wizards to a 106-104 victory over the hapless Charlotte Bobcats at the MCI Center.

Jamison finished with 26 points and Larry Hughes scored 28 to lead the playoff-bound Wizards, who have won three straight on the heels of a five-game skid. The Wizards, who are fifth in the Eastern Conference, will compete in the postseason for the first time since 1997. They lead sixth-place Indiana by 1 1/2 games and trail fourth-place Chicago by a game. The Pacers play in Miami Sunday, while the Bulls are idle.

Gilbert Arenas added 27 for the Wizards, who will finish the regular season this week with road games against New Jersey and New York.

Charlotte’s Rookie of the Year candidate Emeka Okafor, who left Friday’s win over Cleveland with a right thigh bruise, did not play. Okafor has been the lone bright spot for Charlotte this season, averaging 15.2 points and 10.8 rebounds.

Matt Carroll scored a carer-high 22 points for the Bobcats, who are 4-36 on the road with a game at Miami and a home contest against Detroit remaining to finish a dismal season.

Charlotte led throughout most of the game, but the Wizards scored eight of the game’s final 10 points to escape with the win.

The Wizards took their first lead since early in the second quarter on a pair of free throws by Juan Dixon with 3:05 to go in the final stanza. Jason Kapono then scored four straight points to give the Bobcats a 102-98 lead before the Wizards rallied.

Arenas scored with 27 seconds left to tie the game at 104-104, but missed a free throw after being fouled. After Brevin Knight missed a layup, Hughes grabbed the rebound and fed Jamison for the winning bucket.

Charlotte led by two after three quarters and stretched its advantage to 88-77 with a 13-4 burst to open the final stanza. The Wizards, however, scored seven of the game’s next nine points to pull within six at 90-84.

A three-pointer by Arenas cut the Bobcats’ lead to 92-90 with 5 1/2 minutes left and the game went down to the wire.

The Wizards led by as many as eight in the opening quarter and were ahead, 29-24, after 12 minutes. Charlotte, though, used a big second quarter to take the lead.

The Bobcats hit 51 percent of their shots from the field (23-of-45) in the opening half to take a 57-51 lead into the break. Charlotte led throughout the third quarter, opening a 10-point advantage at one point, but Washington was within 75-73 heading into the final frame.