The basket slid through the net, a place where too few of his shots had gone that night. Just like that, Washington was within three. More importantly, Gilbert Arenas had found something that abandoned him most of the night: his touch.
He didn’t lose it again.
And, thanks in part to Arenas’ final quarter, the Wizards are now tied with Cleveland.
Washington evened its series with visiting Cleveland at two games apiece with a 106-96 win last night.
Arenas scored 20 of his team-high 34 points in the fourth quarter. Before Arenas made the three-pointer, he was two of 13 from the field. He madefive of six field goals in the fourth quarter. He attacked the basket more than in the previous three games and he made 14 of 17 free throws.
“When Gil gets going, we all feed off him,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said.
When asked what he changed after a 1-for-9 first half, Arenas said everything: his jersey, his shoes, his shorts, his tights.
“That first uniform was bad luck for me,’’ Arenas said. “In the fourth quarter I was like, ‘This is the time.’ I played bad enough in the first three.’’
Washington also received strong contributing performances. Antawn Jamison had 22 points — 17 in the first half — and 10 boards; Caron Butler scored 21 points. And Jared Jeffries played strong second-half defense —he drew two charges late in the game. He finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
LeBron James scored 38 points for Cleveland, but he had 25 at halftime. He also had seven turnovers and was called for four offensive fouls as the Wizards excelled at having a crowd around him as he drove.
“This is the LeBron show, we’re all just witnesses,’’ Arenas said to much laughter when asked about James’ big first half compared to his.
The fourth-quarter followed a Game 3 in which Arenas scored 17 fourth-quarter points, but missed a final three-pointer that would have won the game. He came out cold Sunday, scoring just six first-half points.
It didn’t get much better until his three-pointer in transition with one minute, 34 seconds left in the third.
The crowd, aching for a reason to get into the game, finally found one. Spurred also by its defense, Washington outscored Cleveland 10-2 in the final 3:14 of the third to tie the game at 72. Arenas tied the game with two free throws with 0.4 seconds left.
It helped that James only attempted three shots in the third quarter, missing them all. Also, Cleveland, which shot 15 free throws in the first half, attempted none in the third quarter.
The Wizards played a drowsy first half, trailing 57-46 at halftime. If not for 12 Cleveland turnovers, it could have been worse. The Cavs led by as many as 14 in the first half, much like Washington did before losing Game 3.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
First round, best-of-seven
Game 1 at Cleveland
Cavaliers 97, Wizards 86
Game 2 at Cleveland
Wizards 89, Cavaliers 84
Game 3 at Washington
Cavaliers 97, Wizards 96
Game 4 at Washington
Wizards 106, Cavaliers 96
Game 5 at Cleveland
Wednesday, TBD
Game 6 at Washington
Friday, TBD
Game 7* at Cleveland
Sunday, TBD
* if necessary
