Final Dime: Wizards 108, Cavaliers 91

LeBron James throws down two of his game-high 34 points. Ned Dishman NBAE/Getty Images

Cleveland led by seven after one half, but the Wizards came out on fire after intermission – outscoring the Wine and Gold, 31-21, in the third and pushing their lead to as many as 18 in the fourth.

The shorthanded Cavaliers – minus an injured Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao – held Washington to just 31 percent shooting the first stanza. But Gilbert Arenas exploded for 14 points in the third period and former Cavalier, Earl Boykins, added nine more off the bench in the fourth.

“They were aggressive the entire game – especially in the second half,” said a visibly bothered Mike Brown. “It wasn’t pretty tonight and none of us should feel satisfied with that performance we gave in the second half.”

LeBron led everyone with 34 points, going 12-for-20 from the floor with a game-high nine assists before being pulled with most of the starters with just under two minutes to play.

“They definitely got into attack mode and the crowd got into it and they made some shots, some shots they didn’t make in the first quarter,” observed James.

It’s been two weeks since the Cavaliers tasted a loss, but they had been flirting with one for a while. After blowing big leads against shorthanded foes at The Q, it finally caught up with them in the District.

Only three other Cavaliers aside from LeBron notched double-figures, and that trio tallied just ten points apiece.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, starting in place of an injured Shaquille O’Neal, netted 10 points – all in the first half. Jamario Moon fought through an injured ankle to go 4-for-8 from the floor for 10 points and five boards. And Darnell Jackson added 10 off the bench – his second straight productive outing in place of Anderson Varejao.

Four of the five Wizards starters scored in double-figures, led by Antawn Jamison’s 31. Earl Boykins, who makes it his business to torment his hometown team, gave Mo Williams fits and notched all nine of his points in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers close out the road portion of their recent four-games-in-five-nights stretch on Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indiana.

2. Headed into Wednesday night’s matchup, here’s a look at the top Cavaliers in each category. LeBron James is fifth in scoring (27.8) and assists (8.1), 11th in minutes (38.1) and 19th in steals (1.64). Anderson Varejao is 27th in rebounding (8.1) and Mo Williams is 10th in free throw shooting (.889). Shaq is 22nd in field goal percentage (.524) and 19th in blocks (1.56 bpg). The tops in any category is Anthony Parker, who entered the game third in three-point shooting at .571.

3. The nation’s capital is one of the toughest places in the Eastern Conference for Cleveland to play. Since 1996, they’ve now dropped 20 of 25 regular season games there and, with Wednesday’s loss, are just 3-10 in the LeBron James Era.

4. Wednesday featured two of the league’s top three three-point shooters – Anthony Parker and Mike Miller (.588). In the Cavaliers’ 108-91 loss, A.P. went 2-for-5 while Miller finished 2-of-4.

5. On Wednesday, the Verizon Center contained two players considered the tops in their sport. Of course, pro hoops were represented by Cleveland’s No. 23. The NHL’s Washington Capitals boast Alex Ovechkin – seated with teammates Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green – courtside and taking in the action.

6. In terms of rocky fourth quarters coming back to bite the Cavaliers, the Wine and Gold have allowed opponents to score an average of 27.4 points in the fourth period over the last seven games, and they’ve been outscored in each of those closing quarters.

7. The Wizards signed former Cavalier and the pride of Central Catholic – Earl Boykins – one week earlier. In his first game back to the NBA after a year playing in Italy, Boykins scored 20 points against the Pistons.

8. The Cavaliers were without Shaquille O’Neal for the third straight game and Anderson Varejao missed his second. Shaq, nursing an injured shoulder, didn’t make the trip and may not play when Cleveland returns home to face Philly.

9. Darnell Jackson had his best night of the season, with 10 points and seven boards, going 5-for-8 from the floor. He also played well the previous evening, although he probably wished he hadn’t seen the Coach on the flight to D.C.

“I asked him on the flight over here how many rebounds he had – and I knew the answer – he’d played 15 or some minutes and had one rebound,” joked Brown. “So I asked him, ‘Darnell, how many rebounds did you have?’ and he said, ‘I don’t know.’ And I said go find out and get back to me. I’m still waiting.”

10. After posting a league-best 16-3 record in back-to-backs last year, the Cavaliers are still a respectable 4-2 this year. Cleveland is now 4-2 on the road, second best mark in the Eastern Conference.