Arenas back, but his winning try blocked
nba
Gilbert Arenas nearly had a heroic finish to his first game in almost a year. Instead, it was Kwame Brown - of all people - who blocked Arenas' shot in the final seconds to help preserve the Detroit Pistons' 98-96 victory over the host Washington Wizards. With 4.5 seconds remaining Saturday night and the Wizards trailing by two, Arenas chased down the rebound of his missed free throw. He whirled to put up a potential game-winning three-pointer, but Brown, who was a flop with the Wizards, got a hand on the shot. Caron Butler then grabbed the ball and missed a baseline jumper at the buzzer, and the Pistons escaped with a victory. "I'm going to think about that the whole way to Indiana," Arenas said as the team prepared to catch a plane to play the Pacers on Sunday. "I should've called a timeout, or I should've just drove the lane off the rebound, but that's what happened. We've got to live with it. ... Just had a mental block." Arenas finished with 15 points and 10 assists in 30 minutes in his first game since April 27, 2008, after battling knee problems. Richard Hamilton, back after missing six games with a left groin injury, scored 31 points for the Pistons (35-37). Antawn Jamison scored 21 points to lead the Wizards (17-57), who said guard Mike James is out for the season after breaking his right pinkie in practice Friday.
