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Jamison's last second tip-in lifts Wizards past Clippers

Feb 14, 2008 - 7:39 AM By Jonathan Raber PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Antawn Jamison scored 29 points and hit the game-winning basket as the Washington Wizards ended a season-high losing streak with a 91-89 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Brendan Haywood finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Antonio Daniels contributed nine points, seven assists and eight rebounds for Washington.

The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Wizards, which was their longest since November 2001. Washington entered the contest winless in February - its last victory coming against the Toronto Raptors on January 29.

"The most important thing is the win," Jamison said. "We've been playing hard of late, we've been competing, we've been in a lot of games, we've just been unfortunate the last couple of minutes.

"One thing I like about this team is the character of this team as far as not giving up, still keeping their heads up high and just competing night in and night out."

But Los Angeles didn't make it easy for the Wizards.

With the score knotted at 89-89, Jamison tipped in a missed runner by Antonio Daniels in the lane with three-tenths of a second remaining for the game-winner.

"I saw (Daniels) drive and just positioned myself on the other side of the basket. ... But when he missed it, I was in a position to tip it in," Jamison said.

Seconds earlier, Jamison's dunk with 38 seconds remaining gave the Wizards an 89-87 advantage after the Clippers had tied the score on a long jumper by Corey Maggette, who finished with 20 points.

The Wizards got some separation when Jamison scored two of his 14 fourth-quarter points on a layup to give his team a 78-73 lead with 4:01 left.

But the Clippers went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 81-80, on rookie Al Thornton's 3-pointer from the top of the key.

"I think my teammates are becoming confident and starting to believe in me and I've just got to go out there and try to make plays," Thornton said.

Thornton had 24 points and Cuttino Mobley added 13 for the Clippers, who were returning from a season-long, seven-game road trip.

The Clippers climbed out of a 13-point halftime deficit and took their first lead since the opening quarter, 60-59, on Aaron Williams' tip-in just before the end of the third. However, the Wizards outlasted them in the fourth, ending an eight-game road losing skid.

"One thing we did tonight, we stayed positive with each other, we stayed patient and executed down the stretch, which is something we haven't done on the course of this trip," Daniels said.

Los Angeles had a difficult time keeping Washington off the boards and was outrebounded, 22-7, on the offensive end.

"It was only fitting that we lose the game on an offensive rebound because that was the killing point all night long for us," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Giving up 22 offensive rebounds just doesn't cut it, and to get beat by 20 on the boards, it was a surprise that we were even in the game in that regard."