Wizards Are Swept Away by the Heat

Washington's Surprising Season Comes to an End When Miami Wins Game 4

All season, the Washington Wizards never focused on what they didn't have, but on how they could proceed without. They never focused on how deep the hole was, only what it took to climb out.

In one closing act of desperation last night, the little team that could gave its fans one final rally, one final memory to grasp for the rest of the offseason.

In a scenario that played out similarly many times this season, the Wizards came back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit and took a one-point lead against the Miami Heat in the final minute.

But in the end, they couldn't keep Heat guard Eddie Jones from launching a contested three-pointer that swished with 14 seconds remaining. They couldn't keep Heat reserve center Alonzo Mourning from swatting guard Larry Hughes's shot on the next possession. And they couldn't overcome Heat guard Dwyane Wade, whose personal postseason party played out to the tune of a playoff career-high 42 points. Inevitably, the Wizards' season ended with a four-game sweep, as they lost to the Heat, 99-95, last night at MCI Center.

"We won't let four games destroy what we did all year," point guard Gilbert Arenas said after scoring a team-high 25 points. "It won't be a bad summer."

The Wizards had been on a magic carpet ride this season, improving by 20 games from a year ago, advancing to the postseason for the first time in eight years and winning a seven-game playoff series for the first time in 26 years when they came back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat the Chicago Bulls in six. Although the Heat played its second game without Shaquille O'Neal -- who was resting his bruised thighs -- the Wizards were again short-handed without reserve center Etan Thomas, who strained his abdomen in Game 2. Forward Antawn Jamison was hobbled by his sore right knee last night, and, with 6 minutes 4 seconds left, their best player was forced to sit when Gilbert Arenas fouled out.

Arenas couldn't get shots to fall all night (he shot 5 of 17), and he spent a good amount of time griping at the officials, picking up a good-measure technical foul before tossing his No. 0 jersey into the stands and grabbing a seat on the bench. The Wizards were down 11 points when Arenas sat, and the building was still.

Then, Coach Eddie Jordan called on Steve Blake, the former Maryland standout who had played a total of four minutes in this series. Blake quickly hit a running 15-footer to bring the Wizards within nine points, and then his former Maryland teammate, Juan Dixon, awoke the quiet crowd with back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Wizards within 94-91 with 3:30 remaining. "It was just like old times," Dixon said, smiling, after scoring 15 points off the bench.

After Hughes (15 points, eight rebounds) hit a free throw, the Wizards were within two. They then forced the Heat into a shot-clock violation and got a steal on consecutive defensive trips, before Blake raced up the court and kicked the ball out to Dixon, who found Jamison wide open in the right corner for a three-pointer that gave the Wizards a 95-94 lead with 1:15 remaining. "I thought we were going to win after that," Dixon said.

The Wizards held the Heat without a basket for 9:57 in the fourth quarter, but before they could make reservations for Game 5 in Miami, Jones caught a pass from Wade and knocked down a backbreaking three-pointer from the foul line extended to give the Heat a two-point lead. Without Arenas, the Wizards drew up a play for Hughes, who drove inside and jumped high around the rim before Alonzo Mourning came soaring in to reject the shot off Hughes and out of bounds. Mourning gleefully skipped down the floor, pumping his arms. "It's something I've done for years and years and years," Mourning said.

Wade closed out the game with two free throws, but he did most of his damage in the third quarter, when he scored 22 points by himself -- three fewer than the Wizards' total in the period. He connected on 7 of 7 from the floor and 8 of 8 from the foul line.

The Wizards also failed to contain guard Damon Jones, who scored 19 points, hitting on six attempts from beyond the three-point line. Jones knocked down a three-pointer from about 27 feet to give the Heat a 76-73 lead with 2:11 remaining in the period. Wade then commenced to demoralize the Wizards, hitting a soft runner in the lane, rebounding a Christian Laettner air ball and dunking, and flushing strong on the break to give the Heat an 87-76 lead. "To me, it's a remake of 'A Star is Born,' " Jordan said of Wade, who added seven rebounds and four assists.

Before the game, Jordan spoke of his team playing pride, about not letting the Heat end the Wizards' season on their home floor. And, for more than 46 minutes, they almost answered the call. Instead, the Wizards became the eighth team in franchise history to get swept in the postseason. The last time the team was swept was 1997, when the Washington Bullets lost in three games to the eventual champion Chicago Bulls. The team has been swept by the eventual champion three times, including twice in the NBA Finals, against Milwaukee and Golden State.

Center Brendan Haywood had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Wizards, who lost for the 12th consecutive time to the Heat. "They're a better team than us right now," Hughes said. "They showed it all season. For us, it's back to the drawing board against them, but we'll be right back at them next year. We're not going to quit what we're trying to accomplish."

"We just kept fighting," said Jamison, who scored 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting. "We stayed confident throughout. We did it when we were down 0-2 in the first series. We did it when we were down 0-3 in this series, and we did it when we were down by 11 with a couple of minutes to go tonight. They hit a big shot, but I can walk around with my head up."