Toronto, ON (Basketball News) - Antawn Jamison scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, along with hitting the go-ahead jumper late in the fourth quarter, as the Washington Wizards defeated the Toronto Raptors, 99-96, at the Air Canada Centre.
In both team’s season openers, Gilbert Arenas added 21 points and seven assists, while Brendan Haywood chipped in with 10 points and 14 boards for the Wizards.
Washington has now won three straight season openers and seven of the last nine meetings with Toronto.
Jalen Rose scored 20 points, Chris Bosh started the season with a double- double — 17 points and 14 rebounds — and Morris Peterson stroked in 16 points for the Raptors.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak in season openers for Toronto, which was playing its fourth straight season opener at home.
The Wizards shot 48 percent from the floor for the game, while holding the Raptors to 40 percent shooting. Washington dominated points in the paint, 58-32, and had 28 assists on 41 made field goals.
The game went back-and-forth the final 12 minutes, with the lead trading hands several times. A Jarvis Hayes three-pointer to begin the fourth quarter tied the game 82-82. Caron Butler then hit a jumper from the left wing and a took the ball coast-to-coast down the right side for a one-hand slam to give the Wizards a 86-82 lead with 8:45 remaining.
It took Toronto almost four minutes to register its first point of the fourth quarter, a free throw by Bosh, cutting the lead to 86-83.
After the Raptors missed three wide-open three-pointers, Jamison hit a turn- around jumper from the right block giving the Wizards a 94-93 lead with 2:58 remaining. They would not trail again.
Just over a minute later, Chucky Atkins rolled down the left side of the paint off a high pick and hit the layup giving the Wizards a 97-93 lead with 1:47 left.
Running out of time, Rose drove toward the right block and kicked it out to Mike James, who hit a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the lead to one, 97-96, with 1:16 left. But, on their next possession, Rose was called for an offensive foul with 14 seconds left.
"Being around the league for a long time, who is to say it was a charge or not? Normally it doesn’t warrant a call," said Rose. "Anytime you get a couple of turnovers like I had, the refs aren’t going to give you any breaks."
Off a designed out-of-bounds play, Jamison faked toward midcourt then rolled to the right block, caught the pass, and hit a four-foot jumper to give Washington a 99-96 lead with 12.7 seconds left.
Toronto got two open looks to tie in the final seconds, but rookie Charlie Villanueva and Rose’s three-point attempts were both short.
Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan was happy to get out of town with the victory.
"I thought to win on the road is a big deal in the NBA, the season opener, almost a brand new team for us. We’re trying to learn how to play with each other," said Jordan.
The Raptors pounded the boards on their way to an early advantage, but a late 16-4 run by the Wizards to close the period gave them a 29-24 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
With 7:26 remaining in the second quarter, the Wizards continued a 9-2 spurt with a no-look, behind-the-back pass from Atkins to Hayes, who finished the break with a two-handed slam giving the Wizards a 40-32 lead.
The Raptors countered with a 20-6 run sparked by former Spanish League player Jose Calderon’s energy and Peterson’s long-distance shooting. Calderon had five points, two assists and a rebound during the streak, while Peterson had eight points including two three-point field goals.
Peterson hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 3:04 left in the half, then after a Hayes mid-range jumper, Villanueva ended the spurt with a jumper.
Hayes threw a full-court baseball pass to Arenas, who hit an acrobatic bank shot with one second remaining to cut the Raptors’ lead to 57-54 at the break.
The Wizards were led by Jamison’s 17 points and five rebounds, as the team shot 61 percent from the floor for the half. Hayes and Arenas added 10 points apiece.
The Raptors’ lead was due in large part to the three-point shot, hitting 6- of-15 from behind the arc. Rose had 11 points and Peterson 10 in the first half for Toronto.
Toronto Raptors 
Washington Wizards 
