Antawn Jamison’s unique repertoire includes running jumpers off the wrong foot, long-distance finger rolls and, his piece de resistance, a half-hook, half-scoop — 45 degrees of separation between the two.
Kids, don’t try this stuff at home. These shots are best left to a trained professional.
If anyone on the Wizards fits that description, it’s Jamison. Saturday night at Verizon Center, with the Wizards on the brink of defeat against the woeful Los Angeles Clippers, they turned to their 10-year pro who shot Washington to an improbable victory, 119-109, in overtime.
This time Jamison (36 points, 11 rebounds) squared up and made conventional, clutch shots. In the final five seconds, the All-Star forward hit a 3-pointer and three free throws to force overtime. In the extra session, he dropped two more bombs from behind the arc to put Washington (33-32) in command.
“You’ve got to hand it to Jamison,” said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. “He made an unbelievable shot on a leaning three pointer. It was a high degree of difficulty and then we fouled him again, which was just our fault.”
With the Wizards down by three with 2.2 seconds left, Jamison went to the foul line with a burdensome task — having to hit all three to get Washington to OT. And it was a task, with which Jamison had recently struggled, hitting just 13 of 22 from the charity stripe in his previous three games.
“I was able to stay focused, calm down and take my time,” said Jamison. “I was fortunate enough to knock them down. It is funny because [Friday] I stayed after practice and worked on my free throws.”
It was the second time this season that Jamison crushed the Clippers. On Feb. 13, his tip-in at the buzzer gave Washington a 91-89 win at Staples Center.
Significant injuries to fellow All-Stars Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas, have put a heavy burden on Jamison. But the 6-foot-9 forward has elevated his game. The best evidence is on the boards, where Jamison is averaging a career-best 10.4 rebounds per game to rank 10th in the league.
“Antawn’s not the strongest guy. He’s light as a four,” said Wizards coach Eddie Jordan. “But he’s quick. He has a knack. He gets put-backs very uniquely. He works very hard. He’s just tough and has a knack.”
With Caron Butler feeling his way back from a torn labrum (hip) and Gilbert Arenas close to returning from knee surgery, the Wizards will continue to depend on Jamison in crunch time. They hope it won’t come to that tonight at home against Atlanta.
