Butler Makes It Count As Wizards Go on Top

Wizards 99, Pistons 96

Antawn Jamison pours in 35 points and grabs eight rebounds in the Wizards' 99-96 win over the Pistons. (Paul Sancya - AP)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 26 -- In the midst of the best season of his career, Caron Butler was having a rough night against a major rival on national television. Butler's normally reliable midrange jump shot was off and he saw several drives conclude not with two points but with a frustrating roll off the rim.

Still, the man whom Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan calls "tough juice" was there when his team needed it most. Butler's four free throws and crucial defensive rebound in the final 15 seconds made the difference in Washington's 99-96 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Friday night.

Butler finished with eight points, well below his season average of 21.1, and connected on 1 of 9 shots, but that mattered little in the end because the Wizards (25-17) moved past Detroit (24-17) for first place in the Eastern Conference.

After Chauncey Billups answered Antawn Jamison's three-pointer by making two free throws, giving the Pistons a 96-95 lead with 29 seconds to go, Gilbert Arenas advanced the ball to midcourt, where he was quickly double-teamed.

Arenas kept his composure and passed off. The Wizards eventually worked the ball to Butler, who was fouled by Rasheed Wallace while shooting. Butler made both free throws and then, after Wallace missed an open three-point attempt, Butler snagged the defensive rebound.

He then made two more free throws, giving the Wizards a 99-96 lead with five seconds left. The Pistons inbounded from half court, but Wallace was forced to take a difficult three-pointer that missed.

"It was a tough night, but Coach said to stay aggressive and I was able to make those free throws at the end," said Butler, whose one made basket was a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the third quarter. "I wanted to be in that situation after playing the way I was playing earlier in the game."

Jamison bounced back from a nine-point, three-rebound effort in Tuesday's loss to Phoenix to lead the Wizards with a season-high 35 points and eight rebounds. Arenas added 25 points and 10 assists. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 27 points, and Billups kept the game tight by scoring 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Jamison made 4 of 10 three-pointers, but his final one was a game-changer. Moments after his attempted layup was swatted away by Chris Webber -- it appeared to be goaltending -- Jamison spotted up in the corner, caught a pass from Butler and drained a three-pointer over the outstretched arm of the 6-foot-11 Wallace.

"That was big because they were starting to get momentum," Jamison said. "I thought that was goaltending there, but I kept my calm like always, Caron found me and I was able to make the shot."

Billups, who made all three of his three-pointers in the final period, was fouled and made both free throws, but Butler put away the game with his four free throws.

Jamison also came up with two key three-point plays in the fourth quarter, when he scored 11 points. His playmaking foiled a Detroit strategy that repeatedly called for Webber or Wallace to post up against the smaller Jamison when the Pistons were on offense.

"We didn't locate him," Detroit Coach Flip Saunders said. "Perimeter-wise, he floated around a lot and hit some big threes. He got some offensive rebounds. What happens is you start giving a lot of attention to Arenas. Your big comes out to help and then all of a sudden Jamison's either knocking down a three or he takes a two-dribble flip shot. That's what he does."

The Wizards trailed 48-46 at halftime but went into the locker room with momentum because Arenas drained a three-pointer over Lindsey Hunter at the buzzer.

It was 12th time this season that Arenas made a shot with three seconds or less remaining in a quarter, half or game. This particular buzzer-beater kept the Wizards close following a half during which they were outrebounded 26-12.

Arenas made 10 of 27 shots and was just 2 of 10 from three-point range, but he committed only one turnover in 48 minutes.

"I thought he played one of his best all-around floor games," Jordan said. "In November, we would've lost that game by 50 but Gilbert kept his composure and ran the team. I thought his floor game was just as big as Antawn's shots and Caron's free throws."