Butler's late layup, James miss, lifts Wizards over Cavaliers 88-87

Caron Butler made a layup with 3.9 seconds left and LeBron James missed a potential series-ending layup at the horn, giving Washington an 88-87 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday night to pull the Wizards within 3-2 in the first-round NBA playoff series.

After Butler scored on a drive past James, the Cavaliers had one more chance but their superstar couldn't get a banked runner to drop and the Wizards headed home for Game 6 on Friday night trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Butler scored 32 points and DeShawn Stevenson had 17 for the Wizards, who played without guard Gilbert Arenas.

Arenas announced before the game that his season was over because of a bothersome knee. James scored 34 points _ 24 in the second half _ but was unable to make a final shot in traffic.