Missed Reverse Means Reversal of Fortune

LANDOVER, Md. —  Clipper swingman Eric Piatkowski will see the shot in his sleep.

Trailing Washington by two points, Piatkowski missed a reverse layup with 3.6 seconds to play and the Bullets ended the Clippers’ four-game winning streak, 102-98, Friday night before 14,040 at the USAir Arena.

“I just missed it,” Piatkowski said as he dressed by himself on the opposite side of the locker room from his teammates. “I’ve hit that shot a thousand times. I just left it a little short.

“I’m sure I’ll be playing that over in my head a million times. There aren’t any excuses. I missed the shot. I’ll hit it next time.”

The Clippers didn’t have any timeouts left after Juwan Howard made a free throw with 7.2 seconds to play to give the Bullets a two-point lead.

But Loy Vaught, who inbounded the ball under the Washington basket, threw a perfect length-of-the-court pass between Bullet defenders Calbert Cheaney and Howard to set up Piatkowski.

“I was looking for it and he made a good pass,” Piatkowski said. “If it was there, he was going to throw it and they weren’t really looking for it.”

Said Vaught: “It’s a play that we practice. I saw him streaking down the sideline and I threw it. We could have won that game. . . . I’m just going to leave it at that.”

Chris Whitney made two free throws with 3.6 seconds to play for the final margin after he was fouled by Rodney Rogers. The Bullets (18-15) ended the Clippers’ road winning streak at three games.

Piatkowski wasn’t the only Clipper who struggled late in the game. They were outscored, 9-3, in the final four minutes.

The Clippers (14-20) missed their last five shots and committed three turnovers in the stretch.

“I liken that total game to one of Jay Leno’s Clipper jokes: not very funny,” Coach Bill Fitch said. “The turnovers that we made and some of the decisions we made at the end are being made by young players, and that’s something we have to improve.

“When you put yourself in that position, you have to be almost perfect at the end.”

Guard Pooh Richardson made five of six shots, including two three-point shots, and scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers overcame an 18-point third-quarter deficit with a 29-11 spurt that spanned the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.

“I don’t know how we lost the lead. Our defense must have let up, but a win is a win and that’s all that matters,” said Howard, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Backup center Dwayne Schintzius led the Clipper reserves, who outscored the Washington reserves, 52-12.

Schintzius had a season-high 15 points in relief of rookie starter Lorenzen Wright, who was overmatched against 7-foot-7 Bullet center Gheorghe Muresan.

Wright, who missed seven of nine shots and had five points and three rebounds, was overmatched against Muresan, who had nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“He’s the heaviest man in the world,” Wright said of Muresan. “It’s like guarding a giant. His arms weight 50 pounds apiece, and once he gets going in one direction it’s hard to stop him from moving.”

Cheaney, who has been criticized after his scoring average fell from 15.1 points to 8.1 points this season, made 11 of 13 shots and had a season-high 22 points for the Bullets, who won their third in a row.