Wizards' Arenas out for rest of season

May 1, 2008 - 4:03 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Washington Wizards secured a crucial win just hours after learning they would be without Gilbert Arenas for the rest of the postseason.

The team announced prior to Wednesday's game that its go-to scorer will be sidelined as he nurses his surgically repaired left knee.

The former All-Star guard, who missed 69 games during the regular season following a second surgery on the knee, clearly was limited in the first four games of the playoffs.

"It's tough, I've tried everything," Arenas said. "I've taken the meds, I've taken the shots. All I need is just rest now."

In his absence Wednesday, the Wizards were able to pull out an 88-87 victory in Game Five of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to a clutch shot from Caron Butler, who admitted that the team has learned to play without Arenas.

"This offense is an equal-opportunity offense for everyone," Butler said. "That's why so many of us who have come from other teams have been successful. The offense gives us a chance to showcase our abilities. Gilbert's a great player, he's our closer, he's a franchise guy, but during the course of the season, we learned to play without him.

"When we got the news that he wasn't probably going to play, we just took it upon ourselves to continue to play how we've been playing and (doing) what's made us successful, and that's moving the ball and getting guys involved. Antawn (Jamison) and I are the go-to guys, and nothing's changed."

The 26-year-old Arenas played 32 minutes in Game Four on Sunday, scoring 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting. He missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer in Washington's 100-97 loss.

Arenas had left Game Three last Thursday after playing just 10 minutes, and it later was revealed that he had a bone bruise in his left knee.

Washington coach Eddie Jordan said Arenas tried to give it a go but just was not 100 percent healthy in those contests.

"It's a delicate situation. He's not the Gil that we know, and he won't be the Gil until next October," Jordan said. "We are a very, very good team with him when he is healthy.

"He fights through the pain and the soreness and the injury when he's playing this year. It's difficult for him, but we have learned to absorb that shock with him and we learned to play without him."

That soreness was not something Arenas felt until the series already had begun.

"Sitting here, walking, it feels like normal swelling," Arenas said. "It's actually when I run, I didn't notice until after Game Two. We went to practice, we did our drills and, instead of running, I'm limping."

Averaging 22.8 points during his seven-year career, Arenas scored just 10.8 points during the playoffs for Washington, which will host Game Six on Friday.