Written by Andrew Clayman

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For the second time this week, Anthony Parker clanged a potential game-tying three ball at the buzzer, helping Cleveland inch an all-important game closer to Washington in the lottery ball standings. Yay! The 101-98 loss is the fifth straight for the Cavs (13-21) and ends an admirable six-game losing streak for the Wizards (8-28).

With Cleveland in their classic wine and gold and the Wizards in their newly re-adopted Wes Unseld-era Bullets duds, you could almost squint and swear you were watching one of those classic 1976 Cleveland-Washington playoff battles tonight—only with a bunch of shitty players and absolutely nothing at stake.

The only matchup remotely significant to the future of both franchises came at the point guard position, where the #1 overall selections from the past two NBA drafts squared off for the first time. Statistically, it was basically a wash, as Kyrie Irving—back from a bout with the flu—put up 20 points (8-14 shooting) and five assists to John Wall’s 24 points (8-17) and five assists. In terms of bragging rights, though, Wall not only got the rare edge on the scoreboard, but a couple of healthy swats on Irving shot attempts and a key steal in crunch time to boot. 

As has been a pattern this season, Irving did most of his offensive damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points in the frame and 8 in the final two and a half minutes. Until that point, the Cavaliers’ primary weapon had been the increasingly tradable Antawn Jamison, who came out of the gates on fire in his old Verizon Center stomping grounds. Surprisingly, this was actually Jamison’s first game back in Washington since the deal that sent him to Cleveland in…

a) 2005

b) 2006

c) 2007

d) I don’t know, 1993?

Actually, none of the above. It was just two years ago—February of 2010—that Jamison was acquired as the final piece in the Cavaliers’ championship puzzle. …Oh well. Anyway, he did something tonight he rarely did back when it might have mattered—he made baskets. In the first quarter alone, Jamison dropped 15 on the Wizards’ welcoming committee, sending the Cavs out to a 33-24 lead. This would eventually be balanced out by a total disappearing act in the final quarter (0-3, 0 points), but Jamison still finished with a superb line: 29 pts (11-24), 9 rbs. 5 asts, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

Unfortunately, the Wizards had their own hot hand in shooting guard Jordan Crawford; a career 28-percent three-point shooter who connected on 5-of-11 triples tonight, including two late daggers as part of a game-changing, 12-point fourth quarter. Crawford—who’s still got a ton of upside at just 23— also wound up with a game-high 31 points, as his efforts along with Wall and reserve Roger Mason (11 points) made up for the general uselessness of the Wizards’ limited frontcourt (JaVale McGee, Trevor Booker, and Chris Singleton are all starters on this team).

Of course, the Varejao-less Cavs certainly have some useless big men of their own, but confusingly, a 15 point, 7 rebound effort from Ryan Hollins wasn’t enough to tip the scales Cleveland’s way in a battle against arguably the worst team in the league not owned by a Hall of Famer with a Hitler mustache.

Maybe it’s because—with the game tied at 78 at the end of three quarters-- the Cavs failed to score a single point for the first 4:13 of the fourth period. But even after Crawford helped ignite a Wizard run that put them up 96-86, it still wasn’t over yet. We are talking about the Wizzies after all. And after back-to-back threes by Parker and Irving, the Cavs were right back within 4 again with two minutes to go. From there, Kyrie committed to driving to the basket rather than forcing jumpers, as Byron Scott tried the old score-a-quick-two-and-foul approach. With 10 seconds left, Irving passed on a possible tying three and drove to the basket again, drawing a foul. He split the pair, and after John Wall did the same on his end, the Cavs had one final shot to send the game to OT. But in a repeat of the 86-83 loss to Boston on Tuesday, Anthony Parker’s decent look from three rattled out as time expired, launching all the lottery-ball watchers from their seats; fists pumping in triumph. Look out, Michael Jordan. The Cavs are on your tail again.

The "Omri Casspi Sucks" Scale – March 3, 2012:  10 mins, 1-for-3, 3 pts, 3 rbs, 1 airball
Not That Sucky   Sucks   Sucks Bilge Water    I Miss JJ Hickson   Sucksopotamus    I Miss Jiri Welsch