Jamison, Bench Fall Short in a Frantic Finish

Dixon, Blake Lead Team In a Short-Lived Rally

When Antawn Jamison's three-pointer from the corner ripped through the net, giving Washington a 95-94 lead with 1 minute 15 seconds remaining in the game, the all-star forward turned and started running down court with a sly grin stretched across his face.

It was as if Jamison sensed that such a clutch shot and the explosion of energy it created inside MCI Center would be rewarded with a Wizards victory. The home fans would go home from Chinatown happy one more time this season, and the Miami Heat would be made to wait at least one more game before advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

"I thought that was it," Jamison said of his shot. "I thought we had it. We finally, after these last two games got the crowd into it, we got the momentum and we got that excitement we had in the first round."

But that feeling proved to be short-lived as Miami recovered and shook off Washington's frantic 12-0 run to emerge with a 99-95 victory. Washington's run began when reserve point guard Steve Blake made a running jump shot with 4:40 to go. The insertion of Blake, who did not play in Games 3 or 4, provided an unexpected jolt of energy to a Wizards squad that looked totally out of sorts at the start of the quarter.

After replacing Gilbert Arenas, who picked up his sixth foul and a technical with 6:04 left, Blake started attacking the Miami defense. He drove and passed to former Maryland teammate Juan Dixon, whose three-pointer cut the Wizards' deficit to 94-88. After

Miami's Dwyane Wade drove and missed a shot under the rim, Blake scrapped for the rebound, darted upcourt and again found an open Dixon, who hit another three-pointer, trimming Miami's lead to 94-91.

The MCI Center crowd got as loud as it had been all season, and the Miami players headed to their huddle where they desperately tried to hold on. To that point, the Heat had missed 16 straight shots.

"The Wizards' team has been a very resilient team all year," Miami Coach Stan Van Gundy said. "You get them down and you can't put them away. They are a very hard team to put away." Washington continued to hold the momentum when Larry Hughes made one of two free throws. After Brendan Haywood blocked a Wade shot, Dixon found a wide-open Jamison standing in the corner opposite the Miami bench, and Jamison hit what he thought would be the game-changing shot.

"We couldn't get it going, couldn't get it going, but then Blake came in and changed the tempo," Jamison said. "We got the ball moving a little bit, we knocked down some shots and we didn't give up. It's too bad we came up a little short."

The game's critical play came with 8.3 seconds remaining, shortly after Miami's Eddie Jones made a three-pointer to give Miami a 97-95 lead. The Wizards spread out and gave the ball to Hughes at the top of the key. Hughes squared up on Jones, froze him with a hesitation dribble and darted down the right side of the lane.

Just as Hughes rose up and lofted a shot toward the rim, Miami's Alonzo Mourning rushed over and swatted the ball away. The ball bounced off Hughes and rolled out of bounds.

The block -- Mourning's second of the game and ninth of the series -- resembled many shots rejected by Mourning during the course of his career.

"Against an attack-offensive team you have to have help defense," Mourning explained. "I saw him put his head down and go. Man, I've been doing that for years and years and years."

Not long after it was all over, Arenas sat on his stool inside the Wizards' locker room and attempted to process what had just happened.

"I don't know what to do with myself," Arenas said. "I hate the summer. It's not like I have any other hobbies. I guess I'll just be back here [today] getting ready for next season."