Caron Butler made a layup with just a few seconds remaining on the clock Wednesday night to give the Washington Wizards a huge 88-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The win kept the Wizards alive, forcing a Game Six in Washington this Friday night.

Butler posted 32 points and 9 rebounds and Antawn Jamison added 8 points and 11 boards for the Wizards, who were without Gilbert Arenas and held Cleveland to just 36% shooting.

LeBron James had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists for the Cavaliers in the loss, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied 19 points and 6 boards.

The game was extremely close, with neither team gaining any breathing room over the entire forty-eight minutes.

James missed a layup with two seconds left in the game. Ilgauskas grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed another game-winning attempt as the clock expired.

Wizards' owner Abe Pollin asked his team to win one for him against the Cavaliers before the team left for Cleveland on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post.

"It kind of caught us off guard," Caron Butler said. "We heard he wanted to see us for a minute. Mr. Pollin wanted to tell us something before we left for Cleveland."

Pollin, 84, is frail because of an undisclosed disease and has owned the team for well over forty years.

"He said he'll be anxious on Friday to see us back at the game," Antawn Jamison said, of a Game Six that will be played, if necessary.

"He said, 'Win one for me,' " Jamison added.

Boston Celtics' forward Paul Pierce and Washington Wizards' guard DeShawn Stevenson have each been fined $25,000 for making menacing gestures during games played this weekend, announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident involving Pierce occurred in the fourth period of the Celtics? 102-93 Game 3 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on April 26. The incident involving Stevenson occurred in the first period of the Wizards? 100-97 Game 4 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 27.

Wizards' center Brendan Haywood thinks that LeBron James needs to stop whining about the rough play and simply play basketball, according to the Associated Press.

"I guess that's what they want to do," James said on Sunday night, "hurt LeBron James in this series. It's not working."

"Awww," Haywood said, in a whiny, high-pitched voice to mock James on Monday, "they are trying to hurt me."

"I mean come on, man, this is the playoffs," Haywood added. "He wears 23, he wants to be Michael Jordan; I can respect that, he's a great player. You saw what Mike went through. Mike got fouled way worse than this. No one is trying to hurt him; everybody is trying to play basketball, trying to play tough. Play basketball and leave it alone."

- CLE 100, WSH 97
Delonte West made a three-pointer with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter to push the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 3-1 series lead over the Washington Wizards, with a victory on Sunday afternoon.

LeBron James had 34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists and West added 21 points and 5 dimes for the Cavaliers, who outrebounded Washington by twenty and while shooting just 41% and turning the ball over eighteen times.

Antawn Jamison posted 23 points and 11 rebounds and DeShawn Stevenson tallied 13 points, 5 boards and 5 assists for the Wizards, who shot 45% from the field and saw Gilbert Arenas miss a three as time expired that would have tied the game.

Stevenson flagrantly fouled James, but was not ejected. The act simply adds to the storied history between the two Eastern guards.

Game Five will be Wednesday night in Cleveland as the Cavaliers look to close out the Wizards.

Game FIC Scores
LeBron James, CLE - 21.0
Antawn Jamison, WSH - 15.6
Delonte West, CLE - 15.0
Brandan Haywood, WSH - 12.8

The Wizards may be without Gilbert Arenas when they try to draw even with the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 4 tomorrow, Washington Post reporter Ivan Carter is reporting.

Arenas' status is uncertain due to a bone bruise and pinched nerve in his surgically repaired left knee.

"Actually, I missed the last two practices because I had achiness, and then I had an MRI before the game, and it said I have a bone bruise and a little pinching in the nerve," Arenas said. "I said I would try to go out there and warm it up and see how long I can last. I knew I wasn't going to play more than 10 or 15 minutes. While I was out there, I just wanted to energize the crowd, get everybody excited about being home, and get some people involved until my time was up."

LeBron James has dismissed talk of a rivalry between himself and Wizard guard DeShawn Stevenson, saying that he does not even know him, the Associated Press is reporting.

"I don't know DeShawn Stevenson at all," James said.

The perceived rivalry has been ongoing, with the most recent episode coming from Stevenson calling LeBron overrated, which caused the two to go back and forth in the media.

Gilbert Arenas still hopes to play for the Wizards in Game Four against the Cavaliers despite re-injuring his knee during Game Three on Thursday night, according to the Associated Press.

Arenas revealed on Friday that he missed a pair of practices prior to Game Three and didn't plan to play more than ten to fifteen minutes.

"I knew I wasn't going to play more than 10, 15 minutes," Arenas said. "While I was out there, I was just trying to energize the crowd, get everybody excited about being home, and get some people involved until my time was up."

David Stern agrees with the referees' decision to eject Brendan Haywood following a hard foul of LeBron James in Game Two between the Wizards and Cavaliers, according to the Associated Press.

"It was a good call," Stern said Thursday night. "He didn't make a play on the ball. At least in the 1,700 replays that I saw."

Haywood wasn't suspended, a decision Stern said he left in the hands of Stu Jackson.

- WSH 108, CLE 72
The Washington Wizards cruised to a crucial Game Three win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night thanks to a tremendous team effort.

Antawn Jamison posted 18 points and 7 rebounds and Brendan Haywood added 14 points and 7 boards of his own for the Wizards, who made 52% of their shots and forced nineteen Cleveland turnovers.

LeBron James had 21 points and 7 rebounds while looking rather mortal and Devin Brown tallied 10 points and 9 boards for the Cavs, who struggled from the field (2-for-17 from three-point range) while outrebounding Washington by ten.

Gilbert Arenas attempted just two shots in ten minutes of play (he injured his knee), while recording three assists.

Game Four will be Sunday night in Washington as the Wizards look to even up the best-of-seven series.

Game FIC Scores
Brendan Haywood, WSH - 15.3
Antawn Jamison, WSH - 14.0
DeShawn Stevenson, WSH - 13.8
LeBron James, CLE - 11.0