A crucial rebound slides through the hands of a Wizards big man, bouncing off his chest into the arms of an opponent. A key free throw — or free throws — clangs off the rim. And a game that looked winnable, instead looks all too familiar.
It’s become a cliché for the Wizards: Once again they’re good enough to stay close. Once again they’re bad enough to allow a winnable game to slip away.
And that’s why they’re now the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed following Tuesday night’s 95-89 loss to visiting Orlando. Worse, if the Magic beats Miami tonight and Washington loses at Indiana, then the Wizards (40-41) would become the No. 8 seed.
With one game left, their playoff opponent could still be one of four teams: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Toronto.
Hard to believe they were 10 games over .500 (31-21) as late as Feb. 22. Now, they could become the NBA’s third team ever to be 10 games over and finish with a losing record.
But they can avoid that fate by winning tonight at Indiana, which would clinch at least the seventh seed. If New Jersey beats Chicago tonight, the Wizards, even with a win, would finish seventh.
“We want to avoid a losing season,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “Hopefully, we have enough in the tank.”
The motivation is also to possibly play playoff newcomers Toronto, the No. 3 seed. To get that matchup, the Wizards must win and Chicago must beat New Jersey.
It would be nice if Antawn Jamison received more help from his teammates. He scored a season-high 48 points Tuesday night, making 14 of 26 field goals. However, the rest of the Wizards combined to make 14 of 54 shots.
Guards Antonio Daniels and DeShawn Stevenson were a combined two of 24.
And the Wizards made just 25 of 44 free throws.
“When you miss that many, you’re rowing upstream with one oar,” Jordan said.
With less than a minute remaining and trailing by two, Jamison missed a leaner in the lane. Center Brendan Haywood bobbled — and lost — the rebound, and the Magic sealed the win with help from Wizards killer Hedo Turkoglu (26 points).
“We put ourselves in position to win,” Jamison said. “We just come out short in the last three minutes of the game. With the exception of the Chicago game [a 101-68 loss], that’s how our season has gone.”
In the bonus
» The Wizards used a 28-12 third-quarter advantage to take a 73-69 lead into the fourth quarter. They used a 19-3 run in the third quarter to take a five-point lead.
» Etan Thomas fouled out with five points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
» In four games vs. Washington this season, Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu averaged 18.8 points — five above his season average.
