Wizards shock Cavaliers to keep NBA playoff series alive

Caron Butler scored the game-winner with 3.2 seconds to play Wednesday as the Washington Wizards beat Cleveland 88-87 to stay alive in the National Basketball Association playoffs.

With the nail-biting victory, the Wizards fended off elimination, narrowing the gap in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series to 3-2.

Game six will be on Friday in Washington.

Butler scored 28 points for the Wizards, who played without superstar guard Gilbert Arenas.

The team said Wednesday that Arenas will miss the rest of the playoffs to rest his surgically repaired left knee.

The Cavaliers, who led by five points with less than two minutes to play, couldn't close out the game to clinch the series.

Cavs star LeBron James collected 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but the team shot just 36 percent from the field.

In Wednesday's other Eastern Conference contest, the top-seeded Celtics will try to gain the upper hand on upstarts Atlanta.

The eighth-seeded Hawks have defied expectations and taken two games from the Celtics in a series tied at 2-2.

The Celtics, who boasted the best defense in the NBA this season, were looking to bounce back at home after surrendering a combined 199 points over the last two games.