In a close game that went right down to the wire, the Washington Wizards were able to outlast the Cleveland Cavaliers and win by a score of 100-97 on Saturday night. With the victory, the Wizards ended their six game losing streak and were finally able to send the home fans at the Verizon Center away happy.
The Wizards received a much needed lift from their starting back-court, as Jordan Crawford and John Wall each came through with big performances. Crawford led all scorers in this game with 31 points on 13-22 shooting from the field. Wall had a solid line of 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and made one of two free throws to give the Wizards a lead with 5 seconds to play. Anthony Parkers last second 24 foot three-point attempt missed for the Cavs, who have now lost their first 4 games following the All-Star break.
It was a welcome sight for Cavs fans to have rookie point guard Kyrie Irving back in the lineup. Irving, Cleveland's leading scorer who missed last night's game with the flu, returned and scored 20 points to go along with his 6 assists. It was a turn back the clock type of performance from Antawn Jamison, who led the Cavs with 29 points.
The Wizards (8-28) will look to keep the momentum from this win going when they host the Golden State Warriors Monday evening at the Verizon Center.
For more on this game and all things Wizards basketball, please check out Bullets Forever. For a view from the other bench, please check out SB Nation's Cleveland Cavaliers blog Fear The Sword. And for more on this and every NBA game, please check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.