A Defenseless Game 5

But the same was true of the Cavaliers. James made 14 of 23 shots and 17 of 18 free throws.

And this time, unlike in Washington's two victories this series, King James had enough help, what with Snow hitting 8 of 12 shots and Murray hitting 5 of 9.

It's hard to believe the No. 1 topic in the NBA right now is defense, concerns about the contentious nature of these playoffs, especially as it concerned sniping at the referees and the particularly nasty fouls. It's hard to imagine the NBA has ever handed out more fines or suspensions the first 10 days of the playoffs. It all came to a head Tuesday night in Phoenix when the Suns' Raja Bell used his entire left arm to clothesline Kobe Bryant and send the Lakers' star to the ground.

Attending the Cavaliers-Wizards game here, Commissioner David Stern was emphatic in his criticism of Bell's hack on Bryant. "There was no basketball play there," Stern said. "It was a very unmanly act. It was a very unnecessary."

Stern said the suspension of Bell, a player with no reputation for dirty play and at such a critical point in the series, is putting players on notice that the league will not tolerate cheap shots. "Violent acts," he said, "do not have a place in our game."

Actually, Stern seemed nearly as annoyed with coaches criticizing referees as a general strategy than anything players have done. Used to be the off-day complaining, led by Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, was seen as rather comical. Riley, after a loss with the Knicks or Heat, would accuse the NBA of favoring Michael Jordan. Jackson, after a loss with the Bulls or Lakers, would accuse the NBA of favoring Patrick Ewing or Alonzo Mourning.

The between-games talk would center on fixes and conspiracies.

This postseason it seems every coach, no matter how junior, has started tweaking the officials. No coach has been fined (yet). But Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal have been fined, surely after taking cues from their coaches, for criticizing the referees. The Wizards' Eddie Jordan and Cleveland's Mike Brown walked right up to the line last weekend with their critiques of the officials.

But now, after 20 years of this junk, Stern says, "It has a corrosive effect on fan confidence and the like. It detracts. So, this year we decided that the limits had to be enforced."

Denver's Reggie Evans should have been suspended for grabbing Chris Kaman's crotch during a game, and Bell had to be suspended for mugging Bryant.

The Wizards aren't without a role in all of this, though it is a small one. It was Brendan Haywood's foul on James that turned Game 2 toward the Wizards' direction. In the opening minutes of Game 5, Etan Thomas fouled former Wizards teammate Larry Hughes while going to the basket, and Hughes hit the floor hard. The referees gave Thomas a flagrant foul, even though replays showed Thomas did nothing extreme.

"In the regular season, you shoot the two foul shots and move on," the Wizards' Antonio Daniels said. "But in the playoffs that foul may lead 'SportsCenter.' It's the most emotional time of the year."

Even so, Daniels expressed the sentiment that the Wizards need to foul more, not less. "Not harder," he said, "but more often because we can't give up layups."

Too bad only a reporter seemed to be listening.