Toronto Raptors vs Washington Wizards Dec.1/07

Caron Butler scored 29 points, Antawn Jamison had 28, and the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 101-97 Saturday night in a game in which each team was missing its best player.

Butler went 10-for-18 from the field and added seven assists. Jamison was 11-for-18 and had 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who broke a two-game losing streak by shooting 56 percent.

The Wizards improved to 5-4 without Gilbert Arenas, who is out several months with a knee injury, while Toronto is 1-1 without Chris Bosh, who did not make the trip because of a strained right groin.

Jason Kapono scored a season-high 23 points for the Raptors, and rookie Jamario Moon set season highs with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Anthony Parker scored 18 points.

Both teams were playing the second night of back-to-back games, and neither was able to put on any sort of run that threatened to take control of the game. A modest 8-2 spurt gave the Wizards a 96-87 lead with 2:51 to play, but Washington had to sweat out the final possessions after Kapono's three-pointer cut the lead to four in the final minute.

Butler, who has already made more three-pointers this season than all of last season, started the game by making three in a row from nearly the same spot behind the arc on the left wing. Later in the first quarter, Butler made an acrobatic steal near the sidelines to start a fast break and finished it off by receiving a pass from Antonio Daniels for a dunk.

The Wizards couldn't build on the momentum, however, and Kapono had a hot streak of his own in the second quarter to give the Raptors an eight-point lead. Washington responded with an 11-0 run, capped by Jamison's layup, and led 52-45 at halftime.

The Wizards took a double-digit lead in the third quarter, but Carlos Delfino quickly erased much of the deficit with a pair of three-pointers. Butler hit a three late in the quarter to put Washington ahead 78-75 going into the fourth.

The Raptors missed eight of their first 10 shots in the final period, allowing the Wizards to go ahead by nine. A pair of dunks by Moon helped cut the lead to three, but Butler's jumper capped the 8-2 spurt that provided just enough cushion down the stretch.

Notes: The Wizards retired Earl Monroe's jersey at halftime. ``The Pearl'' played with the Baltimore Bullets from 1967-71, before the franchise moved to Washington. ... Before tipoff, the team presented a video tribute to slain Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. There was also a moment of silence for Taylor, who died Tuesday after being shot at his home in Florida. ... The Wizards also commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Verizon Center, which opened Dec. 2, 1997, with a 95-78 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics and President Bill Clinton in attendance.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Toronto
• Raptors
• vs
• Washington
• Wizards
• Dec.107

[skinsfanzg18]

yeah baby gotta love the wiz!!!!!!

cb3 and agent 0 forever

[cmacbrown]

SaM Mitchells a fuck head, he was playing Moon as the center the last 4 mins...what the fuck is up with that...

[critic1718]

This is the season when Butler was untouchable.

[clint2689]

Wizards have so many injries..I have no clue what the hell they are doing...They fired the coac when it wasn't his fault..They could lose to any team right now..I think they r just having a down year..Next year they will be back Mark my words!!

[24kurby]

dim shet mopetes buzzer beater was in anther game vs the wizards and raptors won in overtime

oh and raptors beat wizards again about 2 weeks ago by 24

in ur face

[clint2689]

how did the Wizards get "Owned" by Mo peterson..he made one shot which happened to be the one that tied the game... the only team in the east that can stop us is Cleveland..and we'll beat them this season too...cuz we've got Arenas healthy and our Bench is vicious...

[TONYALLENSUCKS]

whats the song that is played after butler scores

[RockinBapes]

GO WIZARDS!

[XtodaZ]

yea but no garbohosa either and he plays a great factor in that toronto raptor team fool

[12robinsonmd1]

omg the wizards suk lke hell!

[FreshKing17]

actually as of today the raptors have a better record, they are 5th in the east and wizards are 6th

[mm82287]

if the wiz are so bad, why do they have a better record than toronto as of today?