Home Is Where the Heartburn Is

It's safe to say that viewers won't be subjected to replays of last night's game between the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks on NBA TV's "Hardwood Classics" series.

In a choppy contest that lacked flow and included 37 turnovers, a pair of offensive foul calls against Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas in the final 1 minute 29 seconds and wild scrums for loose balls on the final two possessions, the Wizards emerged with a 96-95 victory in front of 14,403 at Verizon Center.

The outcome wasn't decided until Atlanta's Joe Johnson was long on an 18-foot jump shot that was contested by Washington's Jarvis Hayes with two seconds remaining.

Johnson, who scored a game-high 33 points and made 12 of 22 shots, wound up with his own rebound after the ball bounced off of several hands in the lane, but he could not get off a decent shot before the buzzer sounded.

"I'm still trying to catch my breath," Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said. "The way things have been going lately, I expected the ball to bounce off a chair or something like that and go in. The basketball gods haven't been with us."

The Wizards (5-9) won for the fifth time in seven home games and were led by Gilbert Arenas (21 points and seven assists), Caron Butler (21 points and eight rebounds) and Antawn Jamison (18 points). The Wizards also received a strong contribution off the bench as Hayes, Brendan Haywood, Antonio Daniels and Donell Taylor combined to make 10 of 15 shots and score 23 points.

Butler tied a team record by making all 15 of his free throw attempts and came up with one of the game's biggest plays when he finished a fast break by making a layup while being fouled by Johnson with 1 minute 4 seconds remaining.

Butler converted the free throw, giving the Wizards a 96-93 lead, and after former Wizard Tyronn Lue made a jump shot, drawing Atlanta within a point, the Hawks failed to score on their final two possessions.

Hayes, who made all three of his three-point attempts and scored nine points, pushed Johnson to his left and got a hand up as Johnson released his potential game-winner.

"He can make shots like that," Hayes said. "The goal I had was to send him to his left and just get a hand in his face. That's what I did and he missed it."

The win wasn't totally satisfying as the Wizards committed four of their 21 turnovers in the final 4:07, yet neither Jordan nor his players were picky because it snapped a four-game losing streak. Washington's next game is Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats at Verizon Center.

"It wasn't pretty but we were able to rely on our defense the last three or four minutes of the game and get out of here with the win," said Jamison, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half as the Wizards built a 10-point lead. "Right about now, I'll take them any way they come."

The Hawks took a three-point lead when Salim Stoudamire made a three-pointer from the corner with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter, but the Wizards woke up early in the fourth and went ahead 84-76 when Hayes followed a three-point play by Arenas by making a three-pointer over Johnson with 9:29 to go.

The Hawks (5-7) drew within 93-91 when Lue (18 points) made a three-pointer after the Wizards collapsed on Johnson. Following an Arenas turnover, Johnson came out of a timeout and made a floater in the lane, tying the score at 93 with 3:39 remaining. The score remained that way until Daniels stripped Josh Smith, led a fast break in the other direction and fed Butler, whose three-point play at the 1:04 mark gave the Wizards a three-point lead.

"There were five possessions that we charted where we got stops but we couldn't make plays the other way," said Hawks Coach Mike Woodson, whose team has lost two overtime games and two other games by a total of nine points. "Finally the three-point play was huge that Caron Butler made. Joe didn't wrap him up and he was able to complete the play."

On a night when he made only three of 10 field goal attempts, Butler was able to impact the game because he aggressively attacked his defender, usually Smith. Butler drew fouls and he also was active inside, where he regularly outworked taller players for rebounds.

Consistency has been a Butler trait all season. He is the only Wizard who has scored in double figures in each game, he's pulled down at least 10 rebounds in six games and he's made 45 of his last 46 free throw attempts.

"I'm just trying to dial in at the line," Butler said. "I shoot 100 free throws after every practice and keep that rhythm so it's just a matter of stepping up there and making them."