Arenas Saves Wizards With a Buzzer-Beater

CHICAGO —  Gilbert Arenas bailed out the Washington Wizards after they’d blown a 22-point lead and seemed ready to collapse.

Now Arenas and his team are one victory from the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in 23 years.

Arenas made a 14-foot shot at the buzzer Wednesday night, foiling a remarkable comeback by the Chicago Bulls and giving Washington a 112-110 victory and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.

“I knew I was going to make it. I shoot those shots every day,” Arenas said.

“You dream about it when you are growing up and when you get that chance, you don’t want to blow it.”

Chicago’s Jannero Pargo made a three-point basket, his third in a 34-second span of the fourth quarter, to tie the score with 5.2 seconds remaining.

But after a timeout, Arenas took the ball out front, moved left with Kirk Hinrich guarding him and made one of the biggest shots of his career.

“I think he was counting the time in his head too, so with three seconds left he probably thought I was going to pull up for the three,” said Arenas, who made five of 14 shots.

“But I was going to take one more dribble and try to use my athleticism and just jump over him.”

The Wizards, whose biggest lead was 84-62 in the third quarter, missed six free throws in the final two minutes and squandered a 10-point lead with 41 seconds remaining.

Game 6 is Friday at the MCI Center and the Wizards have beaten the Bulls 10 consecutive times there. The last time Washington won a playoff series was in 1982, when it beat New Jersey.

Larry Hughes scored a playoff career-high 33 for the Wizards. Ben Gordon had 27 points for the Bulls.