Wizards Keep Rolling

Jamison Keys 19-4 Fourth-Quarter Run to Dispatch Celtics: Wizards 105, Celtics 91

Antawn Jamison and the Wizards send the once-proud Celtics to a franchise-worst ninth consecutive home loss Sunday. Boston also has a firm grip on last place in the Eastern Conference. (Winslow Townson - AP)

BOSTON, Jan. 28 -- Whether Paul Pierce is in uniform, games between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics tend to go down to the wire. Things appeared to be headed in that direction again Sunday night when the Wizards made their lone visit to Boston's TD Banknorth Garden.

The youthful Celtics, who came in having lost 10 straight, hung around into the fourth quarter before the Wizards blew the game open with a 19-4 run and cruised to a 105-91 win.

Coming on the heels of Friday's 99-96 win in Detroit, the victory kept the Wizards (26-17) alone in first place in the Eastern Conference and showed that Coach Eddie Jordan's team can get up for a struggling opponent such as the Celtics just as it can for a high quality one such as the Pistons, who will visit Verizon Center Tuesday night.

"That's why you have veterans and that's why veterans win in this league," Jordan said. "Veterans understand that when you come into a situation like this, you have to play the same way you did the other night [in Detroit]. We had a day off so it's not about being worn down or coming off a back-to-back and this team is dangerous. We saw that last week."

The Celtics (12-31) were again without Pierce, who missed his 19th straight game with a foot injury. They threw a scare into the Wizards at Verizon Center on Jan. 20 by forcing overtime before Washington pulled out a 115-110 victory.

Sunday's contest was devoid of such dramatics, primarily because the Wizards held a 51-38 advantage in rebounding and 19-11 advantage in second-chance points while looking like the better, tougher and far more experienced team.

Antawn Jamison led the way 34 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions that gave Washington a 19-point lead with 4 minutes 40 seconds remaining.

Jamison's performance came two nights after he torched the Pistons for 35 points. It's the first time Jamison scored over 30 points in consecutive games since late last season.

"I guess they said, 'We're going to let you do it now,' " said Jamison, who has made eight three-pointers in the last two games. "I've done it before. Really, I saw it coming because teams have been paying so much attention to Gilbert [Arenas] and Caron [Butler]. A lot of things are opening up for me."

Arenas finished with 23 points, 6 assists and 4 steals but nearly lost a front tooth in the process because Celtics guard Delonte West, a Greenbelt native, accidentally smacked him the mouth in the second half. Eight of Arenas's points came during the fourth quarter and his biggest play was a driving layup that resulted in a three-point play, giving the Wizards a 12-point lead.

Washington also received nice efforts from Butler (21 points, 11 rebounds) and centers Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas, who helped offset Boston's size advantage by combining for 15 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks and several deflections in the lane.

West (22 points, 11 assists) and Ryan Gomes (20 points, eight rebounds) kept the Celtics close in the first half, when the lead changed hands 14 times. The Celtics went into halftime with a 50-48 edge but the Wizards asserted themselves with a 29-point third quarter during which they forced seven turnovers and converted the miscues into 10 points.

Arenas closed the third with a pretty drive and dish to Haywood, whose dunk gave Washington a 77-70 lead and plenty of momentum going into the fourth.

"Our whole thing was, get it close in the fourth quarter and then our veterans could take the game over," Arenas said. "That's what we did. We hit big shots and made big plays at the end."

The loss was just another rough night in a seemingly endless stream of them for Boston Coach Doc Rivers, who appears to be guiding a franchise that is heading directly for this summer's Greg Oden lottery sweepstakes.

The Wizards swept the season series 3-0, and looked like a real contender while doing it.

"It was like Eddie Jordan called a timeout and said: 'Okay guys, enough. All right, let's go get this game,' " Rivers said. "And they didn't get it from running anything. They got it because they pushed us underneath the basket on free throws and got the rebound three or four times. They were tougher. We were soft."