Cleveland, OH--
It was a familar place for the Washington Wizards as they visited the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Quicken Loans Arena and it was a famliar result too, another loss to King James and his troops, 97-84.
So what was the missing part of the Wizards night that resulted in the loss? Gilbert Arenas, who had just seven points on 2-of-12 shooting and 11 assists. He struggled to find his range and the guy who always found a way to make it to the free throw line only had two attempts tonight.
Caron Butler scored 23 points, Antawn Jamison had 20 points and 4 rebounds.
Perhaps the lone bright spot tonight was Etan Thomas who scored 14 for the Wizards, who spent the summer thinking who was going to start at the center position.
Even with James making things happen in the fourth quarter, it was really Larry Hughes who stole the show tonight in the opener.
Hughes who missed 46 games last season appears to have returned to the form he showed while he was with the Wizards. Hughes 27 points and 9 rebounds is a good sign for the Cavs who will need his healthy body all season long if they hope to compete for the playoffs again this season.
"We played hard all night long and these guys did not quit. When Gil was unable to hit a few shots, Antawn, Etan helped us tonight. We know that our bench will be ready in case one player has a bad night," said Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan.
"Yeah but it's about winning and losing," Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said before the game. "All the numbers you can toss aside. It's about the W and the L. That's all that matters."
After Jarvis Hayes missed consecutive jump shots on one of the final Washington possessions. James drove and scored a layup, giving Cleveland a 95-93 lead. Jamison made one of two free throws with 36 seconds remaining in the game giving some hope, but Anderson Varejao closed the scoring out by making two of four free throws on Cleveland's final two possessions.
WIZARDS VS. CAVALIERS PHOTO GALLERY
