Wizards Hand Celtics a 2nd Straight Loss

[January 15, 2008]  BOSTON (AP) -- Caron Butler scored 21 and Washington beat Boston 88-83 on Monday night for the Wizards' second victory over the Celtics in three days.

Antawn Jamison added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who handed Boston its first two-game losing streak of the season.

Butler scored nine points during a 25-6 run over the final 6:24 of the fourth quarter to give the Wizards their fifth win in the last six games against Boston.

Boston also lost consecutive games at home for the first time all season and dropped to 30-6. The Celtics are 2-3 over their last five and have averaged 85 points a game over that span.

Eddie House scored his only five points of the game to give the Celtics their largest lead at 77-63 with 6:24 remaining before the Wizards rallied.

Trailing by 14, the Wizards went on an improbable 19-4 run to take an 82-81 lead with 40.1 seconds remaining capped off by a Butler lay in and foul shot after being fouled by Kendrick Perkins.

On the ensuing possession, Kevin Garnett failed on a 3-pointer, but Paul Pierce was fouled on the rebound and sank both free throws to regain the lead for Boston at 83-82. Butler then responded with a high-arcing lay-up as he beat Pierce off the dribble with 19.6 seconds remaining.

Garnett failed on another chance to regain the lead for Boston when his turnaround jumper clanked off the back rim. Butler got the rebound and hit a pair of free throws for an 86-83 lead with 8.3 seconds remaining. After calling a 20-second timeout, the Celtics inbounded to Ray Allen whose 3-pointer fell way short before DeShawn Stevenson clinched the game with two free throws.

Washington shot a combined 37 percent in its two victories, but shut down the struggling Celtics offense. Brendan Haywood scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds and was very effective against Garnett.

Garnett led the Celtics with 23 points while Pierce added 18.

The Celtics struggled to a 37-35 halftime lead while shooting 43 percent. Stevenson led Washington with 11 while shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, despite the Wizards shooting 35 percent overall.

Point guards Rajon Rondo and House combined to score nine points while shooting a combined 4-for-15 for Boston.

Notes: Jamison and Butler are the highest scoring forward tandem in the NBA averaging 43 points per game. ... Pierce has led the Celtics in scoring once in the last eight games. ... Butler extended his streak of 41 straight free throws. ... Curt Schilling was in attendance and received a loud ovation during a third quarter timeout. ... Allen shot 8-for-27 in the two games against the Wizards.

[Associated Press]

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