Wizards gang up on green

Before last night, no team had managed to beat the Boston Celtics three times this season.

Leave it to the Washington Wizards — who bested Eastern Conference-leading Boston twice in a three-day span in January despite the absence of leading scorer Gilbert Arenas — to pull off another improbable quest. The Wizards posted a 109-95 victory last night at Verizon Center to conclude the season series with Boston with a 3-1 record.

“It says a lot to beat that team three games to one throughout the regular season,” said Antawn Jamison, who led the Wizards with 27 points and 11 rebounds. “If a matchup was to occur in the playoffs, it gives us the confidence to know we can match up with them.”

Using a 15-4 run early in the third quarter, the Wizards posted a 72-62 lead with 5:16 left in the period and never trailed after that to improve to 41-37. Boston trimmed the deficit to 101-95 with three minutes left in the game, but the Wizards closed out play with an 8-0 spurt to hand the Celtics their second-worst defeat of the season.

Six Wizards scored in double digits. DeShawn Stevenson added 14 points, including three 3-pointers, and Caron Butler finished with 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

However, the defeat wasn’t costly for the Celtics, who last week clinched the top seed in the playoffs. Boston (62-16) held All-Stars Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen out of Saturday’s 23-point win over Charlotte and limited their minutes Tuesday in a win over Milwaukee. Coach Doc Rivers’ plan coming into last night’s game was to hold each to 20 minutes, but the trio was pressed into additional duty with their team in a dogfight against Washington.

Pierce logged 37 minutes and finished with 28 points, Garnett scored 22 points in 30 minutes and Allen played 36 minutes but finished with 13 points. But in the end, it wasn’t enough to outdo the Wizards.

“This is definitely a confidence boost, but we can’t let it be a hangover,” said center Brendan Haywood, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds. “It can’t be one of those games that we come out the next game sleepwalking. We need to learn from this game, realize what we did well and come out with a business-like approach [tomorrow] in Detroit.”

Boston got off to a strong start thanks greatly to Pierce, who scored 14 of his team’s first 18 points on 5-for-5 shooting. Washington trailed by seven before scoring 10 straight points to take a 21-18 lead with 3:24 left in the quarter. Arenas capped the run with a layup in traffic.

The Wizards remained in front 30-25 heading into the second quarter.

They went on to take a 37-27 lead thanks to back-to-back fast-break plays orchestrated by Arenas, who finished with 13 points, four steals and three assists. The advantage then grew with a 16-2 run in which the Wizards extended their lead to 44-27 with 6:47 left in the half.

But Boston answered with a 24-6 run to take a 51-50 lead with 1:20 left in the second quarter. Andray Blatche tied the score 51-51 with a foul shot and then hit another the next time the court to put Washington up. Stevenson drilled a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, and Garnett closed out the half with a tip-in at the horn that cut the Wizards’ advantage to 55-53 at halftime.

“I thought we played pretty darn good for 48 minutes,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “We withstood a couple of their runs, and we were able to stage a few runs of our own. It was one of those proud, manly games. You have to get through it and prove to yourself that you can compete on a level like the Boston Celtics. We’re very satisfied with our effort. We’re very satisfied with the intensity and defense coming off the bench.”

It’s the third time in franchise history that Washington has won the season series over the team with the best record in the league. The Wizards went 2-0 against the NBA-leading Jazz in 1997-98 and went 3-0 against the Pistons in the 2005-06 season.

Wizards report

Last night at Verizon Center

SEEN AND HEARD

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas played in his third game since returning from a 66-game layoff after knee surgery in November, and he again came off the bench. Coach Eddie Jordan said Arenas will continue to play as a reserve limited to 20-24 minutes a game while he works his way back into top form.

Jordan will use the three-time All-Star in different rotations. He said it helps Arenas and his teammates get readjusted to each other.

“I think it’s very exciting, and it adds another dimension to the opponent’s thinking: Who comes off the opponent’s bench to match up with Gilbert Arenas? I like that,” Jordan said.

In an attempt to get fans to boo loudly when Boston’s Leon Powe was at the foul line, the scoreboard put up images of LeBron James, Kwame Brown, J.J. Redick in a Duke uniform and a Yankees logo. …

Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, running back Clinton Portis, receiver Santana Moss, fullback Mike Sellers and offensive lineman Chris Samuels attended the game. Portis had courtside seats, and Moss sat behind the Celtcs’ bench. Campbell, Sellers and Samuels sat four rows up along the baseline nearest to the Wizards’ bench. Autograph-seeking fans swarmed them before they even sat down. They obliged, scribbling on napkins, Wizards T-shirts and basketballs.

BY THE NUMBERS

1,000 Paper Bill Walton masks given to fans by ESPN, promoting the fact the game was broadcast on the network. Why Walton was picked is a bit of a mystery because the commentator was not working the game or in attendance.

— Mike Jones