Wizards beat Cavs for fourth straight win

Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and added five rebounds while Caron Butler had 18 points and nine boards for Washington, which won for the fourth game in a row.

Brendan Haywood added 14 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

"We did a great job tonight," said Arenas. "It was a great team effort. We have been improving defensively, and it’s been showing."

LeBron James struggled for the Cavaliers, shooting just 6-of-23 from the field for 18 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists. Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each tallied 14 points as Cleveland’s modest two-game winning streak came to a halt.

Trailing by two at halftime, 51-49, Washington came out firing in the third quarter, connecting on its first five shots en route to a 16-9 run that gave the Wizards a seven-point edge through the first six minutes. Jamison led the way with six points during the impressive six minute run.

Cleveland then cut the deficit down to three at 74-71 after a Butler free throw with just over two minutes left sparked a 7-0 Cavalier run that closed out the quarter.

The Cavaliers came within one after two James’ free throws 30 seconds into the fourth, but were unable to complete the comeback as Washington responded with a 5-0 spurt to push the lead back out to six.

The Cavs’ crawled back to within three at 83-80 after a Donyell Marshall three-pointer with 7:18 left in the fourth, but Washington used a 6-0 run to push the lead up to nine and Cleveland did not threaten again.

"[The Wizards] came out and did what they needed to do to get a lead, stay in the game in the first half, and in the second half they stepped it up a notch and we didn’t," said Cleveland head coach Mike Brown. "It resulted in a win for them."

Game Notes

Cleveland held a 32-28 edge after the first frame...Ilgauskas was thrown out of the game in the fourth quarter after receiving his second technical foul...Since Butler joined the starting lineup, Washington is 16-9...Cleveland and Washington will meet for the third time on February 24...Arenas was named to his second consecutive Eastern Conference All-Star team, replacing Indiana’s Jermaine O’ Neal...Guard Larry Hughes is out indefinitely with a finger fracture for Cleveland.