10. Washington takes down Dallas…twice

In a season that can best be described as a roller coaster, it is hard to pinpoint the exact moment where the short-handed Wizards realized they could compete with the league’s best on any given night. However, if you have to pick a game that jumpstarted Washington’s up and down season you have to instantly look at the Wizards 110-98 road win over the Dallas Mavericks in late November.

For the last several seasons the Dallas Mavericks have been one of the powerhouses of the Western Conference. After falling in the Finals two seasons ago, the Mavericks followed up their run to the Finals by finishing with the NBA’s best regular season record in 2006-07 as well as an MVP trophy for their star player, Dirk Nowitzki.

However, despite having the league’s reigning MVP, the Mavericks hardly had the best player on the court that night. After making just 18 three-pointers in the 2006-07 season, Caron Butler showed opponents he had a new weapon in his arsenal, draining all five of his three-point attempts on his way to scoring 35 points and leading the Wizards to the upset victory.

After knocking off the Mavericks in Dallas, the Wizards once again had their way with the Mavs in Washington, this time on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Once again Butler led the way, scoring 25 points to go along with five steals as Washington shut down the high powered Dallas offense, winning 102-84 and completing the first season-series sweep over Dallas since the 1996-97 season.

"We're being nastier and grittier defensively and our concentration level is up defensively,'' Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “The theme tonight was, 'Each possession get better': The next possession on defense, get better. The next possession on defense, get tougher. The next possession, get into them tighter.''

9. Easter Sunday win over Pistons

After being on the road for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, the NBA decided to be kind to the Washington Wizards allowing them to return home to Verizon Center for an 8:00 P.M. nationally televised game on Easter Sunday. Lucky for the Wizards, they were only facing the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons. The home stand was also going to be a short one for the Wizards who had just returned from a four-day trip to Florida and who would be leaving the following day for a five-game, seven-day trip to the West Coast.

Despite the overwhelming odds, the Wizards rose to the occasion and physically dominated one of the most physical teams in the league. Led by a starting frontline that combined to score 57 points, the Wizards outscored the Pistons 50-20 in the paint to cruise to the 95-83 win.

"It was a win that we needed. We have a tough road stretch coming up and it was nice to move to three games over .500," said Antawn Jamison who had a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds. "It was nice to beat a quality opponent. We are starting to get back to that form that we had earlier in the season. The season is winding down, the playoffs are coming up and we are starting to play better on offense and defense."

The win capped off one of the best stretches for the Wizards during the season; during a 10-day stretch, Washington defeated the Pistons, Magic and Cavaliers.

8. Tale of two halves

On February 29th against the Chicago Bulls, the Washington Wizards closed out arguably their toughest month of the NBA season. Entering their final game of February, the Wizards were just 3-10 during the month, and it looked as though the tough month would end on a down note as Washington fell behind early against the Bulls and trailed by 18 at halftime.

Entering the second half, the Wizards were not only trailing, but they were even more short-handed than usual. Playing without Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Etan Thomas due to injury, the Wizards were going to be without DeShawn Stevenson as well, as Stevenson had been ejected right before the end of the first half.

Facing extremely adverse conditions the Wizards did what they had all season: persevered. After trailing 52-34 at halftime, the Wizards started the second half on 22-1 run, turning an 18 point deficit into a 56-53 advantage. Leading the way for the Wizards was Roger Mason, Jr., who dropped in 12 third quarter points. Having overcome the huge deficit, the Wizards would control the game throughout the second half, and the Wizards rallied for the largest come-from-behind win of the season.

"We could have easily been negative and tried to do everything on our own," Jamison said. "But we stayed within a team concept and were fortunate enough to put things together on both ends of the floor."

7. Butler breaks franchise record for consecutive free throws made

When Caron Butler stepped to the free throw line with 6:52 to go in the 1st quarter of a loss to the Nets, he hardly could have known that he was about to begin the greatest free throw streak in the history of the Washington Wizards franchise. However, after knocking in that first free throw, Butler wouldn’t miss again for the next 14+ games, converting on 73 consecutive free throw attempts. The record-setting 73 free throws by Butler shattered the previous Wizards record of 52 consecutive free throw makes.

The free throw streak propelled Butler to a career-high free throw percentage and a top ten free throw percentage ranking in the NBA.

“He’s an unbelievable free throw shooter,” said DeShawn Stevenson about Caron Butler. “He shoots free throws after practice. He is always working on his game. It’s not surprising to me that he broke the streak, he’s just a phenomenal free throw shooter.”

Butler was not the only player who saw his free throw shooting improve this season. The Wizards went from the 11th best free throw shooting team in 2006-07 into the top five for the 2007-08 season.

6. Jamison leads ‘Comeback of the Year’ in 119-109 overtime win over the Clips

Throughout the 2007-08 season the Washington Wizards played with a never-quit attitude. No matter the deficit or the amount of injuries, the Wizards played until the final whistle. There was no better indicator of that than when the Washington Wizards hosted the L.A. Clippers on March 15th.

Trailing throughout the contest, it looked as though the Wizards were going to come up on the short end of the stick after a pair of free throws by Corey Maggette extended the Clippers lead to four points with seven seconds to go in the game. However, All-Star Antawn Jamison would not let his team lose on this night, first knocking in a three-pointer with four seconds left to cut the lead to one point. Then, following a pair of free throws by Tim Thomas to push the lead back to three, Jamison was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with two seconds left to play. Jamison calmly stepped to the line and sunk all three free throws to send the game into overtime.

Having seized the momentum, the Wizards dominated the Clippers in overtime and cruised to a 119-109 come-from-behind win.

"It's one of the greatest comebacks I have been a part of," said Darius Songaila who was one of seven Wizards to finish in double-figures with 14 points. "Obviously we did a great job down the stretch. Antawn (Jamison) hit some amazing shots and it was just great being apart of it and out on the floor."

Coming Soon Moments 5 Through 1