The Washington Wizards knew they had their hands full when they drew LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in round one of the 2008 NBA playoffs. Despite their best efforts to get into James' head and batter him physically, the Wizards simply had no answer for Cleveland's young superstar. James and the Cavs prevailed in six games, putting an early end to Washington's championship dreams.
The Wizards fell behind 3-1 in the series before stunning the Cavaliers in Cleveland in Game Five, pulling out an 88-87 win when James missed a potential series-clinching shot at the final buzzer. Heading back to Washington for Game Six, hopes were high the Wizards could use home court to force a decisive Game Seven, but it wasn't meant to be.
Washington used the emotion of the home crowd to take a 31-27 lead after the first quarter. Unfortunately, the Wizards weren't able to keep up the pace, and the Cavs slowly began to pull away. Cleveland outscored Washington 52-33 over the second and third quarters, cruising to a relatively easy 105-88 victory to close out the series.
James certainly didn't disappoint his fans, posting a triple-double with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. Antawn Jamison was the top man for the Wizards, scoring 23 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Washington's cause was hurt when Gilbert Arenas was unable to play due to injury. It will be a long summer in Washington, but they did all they could to try and dethrone King James.
