After Latest Loss, Arenas Won't Pass the Blame

A visibly disappointed Gilbert Arenas swallowed hard and kept trying to shoulder the blame.

"It was my fault," Arenas said in a solemn home locker room. "I had turnovers. I didn't make a shot. I just didn't do anything right out there in the second half. That's when they took the game over."

If only the Washington Wizards' 102-95 loss to the Miami Heat last night were that simple.

The Wizards are down 3-0 and facing elimination in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series for many reasons. On a night when Miami was playing without the game's most dominant big man, Shaquille O'Neal, the Wizards were outrebounded 43-29. Miami guard Dwyane Wade scored 31 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had six assists in 44 minutes. Juan Dixon, who finished with 16 points in 30 minutes, was the only member of a depleted Wizards bench to score.

And yet it could be argued that the Wizards really lost Game 3 during an ugly third quarter when they squandered a 51-49 halftime lead by committing six turnovers and lost control of Wade and Eddie Jones, both of whom scored nine points during the period.

By quarter's end, the Wizards trailed, 79-70, and a once hyped-up MCI Center crowd was beginning to nervously mumble about what it was witnessing.

Arenas was particularly hard on his own third-quarter performance and specifically homed in on several passes that sailed over, around and away from targets. Arenas, who finished with 20 points and a franchise playoff-record 14 assists, committed four of his six turnovers during the quarter and was whistled for two fouls.

It's strange, but after a night when Arenas was credited with the most assists by a Wizard or Bullet in a playoff game, he was unable to get his mind off the passes he didn't quite make.

"They were basic, easy passes," Arenas said, rattling off his turnovers. "Passing the ball up to Juan, overthrew it to [Antawn Jamison], overthrew it to Brendan [Haywood]. I was overthrowing a lot of passes tonight. I don't know what it was."

The Wizards' problems were worsened by what was happening on the other end of the court during the third quarter. Miami made 10 of 18 shots (56 percent), 8 of 10 free throws and grabbed four offensive rebounds. Everyone in the building had to get a queasy feeling when reserve guard Keyon Dooling drove baseline, lost his balance and flung the ball up at the basket. It was the kind of shot normally seen in a driveway game of HORSE, yet it swished through the net and gave Miami a 76-68 lead.

"The third quarter was the key to the game," said Wizards guard Larry Hughes, who didn't attempt a shot during the quarter. "If we come out with better control during the third quarter, it is a different situation."

The other key factor was Wade. Heat Coach Stan Van Gundy said Wade was "very, very, very upset" following a first half in which he scored 12 points but also turned over the ball six times and struggled to handle a Washington defensive strategy that centered on forcing Wade to his right. Wade, who loves to dribble to his left and then attempt a pull-up jump shot or continue on to the basket, tried on several occasions to oblige the Wizards and go to his right during the first half but didn't have much to show for it.

During the second half, Wade adjusted and began finding holes even when they weren't really there. Wade made 9 of 15 shots and scored 19 points during the second half.

"He loves to go left, so you push him right," said Hughes, who has guarded Wade throughout the series. "In the second half, he started shooting the ball. He was getting it on the glass. In the first half, he was jumping in the air trying to make the pass. That's what he normally does when he goes right. Tonight, he just started pulling up and hitting that little 15 footer and once he gets going, he's a very hard guy to stop."