Bullets win game, not home court

No Gilbert. No Caron. No problem.
The Bullets defeated the Indiana Pacers at the Phone Booth tonight 117-110 behind 31 points from Roger Mason, a season-high 70 points from the bench, 54% shooting on 3-pointers, and a 58-31 rebounding advantage. Washington led by as much as 22 in the second half, but allowed Indiana to winnow the lead down to 3 before they hit a few free throws at the end of the game to seal the win. Indiana was officially eliminated from the playoffs, with Atlanta securing the 8th seed.
Deshawn Stevenson played less than 8 minutes before leaving the game in the 3rd quarter with an injury. Nick Young scored 14 points in 19 minutes, Andray Blatche scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in under 27 minutes and Dominic “Run DMc” McGuire added 9 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. The star, though, was Roger Mason, who hit 10 of 16 shots, including 7 of 9 on 3-pointers, for 31 points, 6 boards and 4 dimes.
The Bullets lost home court, though, when the refs handed yet another game to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. With Philadelphia leading 90-89 in the final seconds, Lebron James drove to the basket, walked [of course] and dished off to Devin Brown, who missed a short shot. Time expired, the Philly crowed cheered and the 76ers celebrated in the locker room.
The refs, however, were not finished with the game. With the Cavs dangerously close to losing home court advantage, something clearly had to be done. The refs decided to review the last play to see if a foul occurred before time expired. They decided a foul against Devin Brown had occurred and they called both teams back for Brown’s two free throws. Brown hit the free throws and Cleveland emerged a 91-90 winner.
This is why the Bullets must not get into close games with the Cavaliers. I’m not going to allege anything shameful on the part of the refs, I’m just going to write that you can’t get into close games with the Cavaliers. Call it whatever you want, something strange always seems to occur and a lot more often than not, that strange thing favors the Cavaliers. If Washington allows games to go down to the final seconds against Cleveland, they will lose the games and the series.
It’s going to be 8-5 for the Bullets against Cleveland. They must keep that in mind.