When the game began, it was white out upon the sold out crowd in the Verizon Center.  With under three minutes left in the game, the Verizon Center became a blue out.  The blue presented the color of the chairs as the fans were leaving the building because the Washington Wizards were down by 25 points.  The Wizards season ended with a 17 point lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 105-88. 

          
   In game 5 shortly before tip-off, guard Gilbert Arenas declared he was finished for the year because his left knee is still sore.  It was the right thing to do, but was it too late?

           
Wizards forward Darius Songaila wasn’t a big scorer (5.4 points per game) or a big rebounder (2.3 per game) in this series, but he played a major role for the team.  Songaila played quality defense, helped forced the Cavaliers to take shots (good & bad), hustled, and bought energy.  Within hours before tip-off, the league notified the Wizards that Songaila was suspended without pay for game 6 of the best-of-seven eastern conference first round against the Cavaliers because he hit all-star G/F Lebron James in the mouth in game 5.  Songaila’s suspension came as a surprise because the hit was unintentional and he was charged with a technical foul.  It’s hard to say Songaila’s suspension was the reason the Wizards lost, but it does hurt a team when a major contributor is unable to play.  “It was tough to lose your big man (Songaila) and Gil (Gilbert Arenas), but we felt as though we still could have won this game,” said Roger Mason, Jr.  

        
    The Wizards had a bad shooting night in game 5 in Cleveland –36 percent- and it carried over into last night’s game in which the team shot 38 percent.  The starters alone went 25 for 60 from the field, including 4 for 14 from three-point range.  All-star forward Antawn Jamison finished with 23 points off 9 from 22 shooting and 15 rebounds and all-star forward Caron Butler finished with 18 points off 6 from 14 shooting and 9 rebounds.  Guard Roger Mason, Jr., an instant scorer off the bench, struggled as well, finishing with 7 points and zero rebounds.  Mason said,” This series, they (Cavaliers) proofed that they were the better team.  You got to give them credit and … that’s what it is”.

         
    Lebron James had a quite triple-double as he finished with 27 points off 8 from 17 shooting, 13 rebounds and 13 assists leading the way to knock off the Wizards for the third year in a row in the playoffs.

Written By Barry Barnes