CAVS NOTEBOOK From Quicken Loans Arena

Jordan's blunder: Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas bailed out his coach in the final minute of Tuesday's game. After Cleveland cut its deficit to three (87-84) with 20 seconds left, Washington coach Eddie Jordan inexplicably sent in little-used guard Billy Thomas, who had attempted just two free throws all season. Thomas was fouled, missed both and gave the Cavs a chance to tie. But Arenas' steal in the closing seconds ended the threat. "I was thinking I made one of the biggest playoff blunders in history," Jordan said afterward.
Getting physical: The Cavaliers jumped out to a 23-8 lead in the first quarter, only to watch the Wizards answer with an 18-0 run. One of the key plays came with four minutes left in the first quarter when Wizards center Brendan Haywood committed a hard foul on LeBron James underneath the basket. James is used to being hit -- he leads the NBA in "and-ones," which are made baskets followed by a made free throw -- but the Wizards did a better job of wrapping him up during fouls before he could continue his shot. "I know hard fouls are going to happen," said James, who made 11 of 15 from the free throw line. "They did a great job of wrapping me up before I got to the rim." When Jordan was asked whether Washington would continue to be physical for the rest of the series, Jordan quipped, "No, we're going to hug and kiss him and show him the way to the basket."
They saw the sign: When the Wizards arrived at Quicken Loans Arena before Saturday's game, they noticed the 10-story billboard of LeBron James across the street. Jordan admitted his team allowed the billboard to get in their heads. "It intimidated a 51-year-old man to see a big sign out there," Jordan admitted. "I think they made up their minds together as a group that they were going to play better and not let that stuff bother them."
Other standouts: Arenas scored a game-high 30 points, but he got a lot of help from his teammates. Forward Caron Butler had 21 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds and forward Antawn Jamison added 21 points and seven rebounds. No other Wizards player scored in double figures. For Cleveland, Larry Hughes had 16 points but shot just 5 of 16 from the field. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added nine points and seven rebounds.
Fan problem: Jordan was unhappy with the officials at the end of the first half and came out to the floor to argue that James should have been called for traveling in the final seconds. On his way out, he shouted at a fan who reportedly yelled a racial epithet at Jordan. "You hear stuff all the time," said Jordan, who is black. "It got to be a little too much at the end of the first half. That's all I'm going to say about that."
Joe Scalzo