LANDOVER -- If Chris Webber had sat on the bench in street clothes -- and who could have faulted him, after traveling half the night before -- the fans would not have cared. But in being traded to the Washington Bullets, Webber has created a hysteria in this area, and despite his fatigue he wanted to give the fans more than a cameo appearance.
Webber wanted to play.
He played, and he played a lot. But there was no happy ending in the debut of Webber and just-signed No. 1 draft pick Juwan Howard, as the Bullets dropped a heartbreaking, 103-102 game to the Boston Celtics before a sellout crowd of 18,756 at the USAir Arena.
It was a game that the Bullets appeared to have won, after a foul-line jumper by Calbert Cheaney with 3.1 seconds left gave them a 102-101 lead. But the Celtics inbounded the ball quickly to Dee Brown, who drew a blocking foul on Rex Chapman. Brown hit the two free throws and the Celtics escaped with the win when Webber and Cheaney collided trying to pick up and shoot a last-second free ball.
Webber ended the night with nine points and nine rebounds. Howard had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Not that bad a start, but it showed a lot of promise for the Bullets.
With the game tied at 78 going into the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored the first six points to take an 84-78 lead.
But Webber and Howard, on the floor to start the fourth, played key roles in the 9-2 run that followed. Webber started the run with a dunk, Howard had two baskets and after a jumper by Rex Chapman with 7:17 left Washington had an 87-86 lead.
That later was increased to three, after MacLean grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. His two free throws gave the Bullets a 92-89 lead.
David Wesley's three-pointer from the left corner tied the game, and rookie center Eric Montross followed with two free throws for a 94-92 Boston lead.
Boston's lead was 99-96 with 2:11 left after two free throws by Dominique Wilkins, but then the Bullets came back.
First Webber made one of two free throws. On the other end he grabbed a rebound after forcing Wilkins to take a bad shot. And when Chapman hit a three-pointer with 49.7 seconds left, the Bullets had a 100-99 lead.
After a Boston miss, the Bullets had three chances on their next possession to score. But Duckworth missed a short hook, Webber missed two tips and Boston gained possession. Derek Strong got free for a layup with 8.6 seconds left, and Boston had a 101-100 lead, setting up Cheaney's and Brown's final heroics.
Early on, the heroes were Webber and Howard, who received ovations when they were introduced together when the lineups were announced. The new era for the Bullets officially began when Howard entered the game with 4:21 left in the quarter and Washington trailing 20-19.
Twenty-four seconds later, the Bullets ran a play for Howard on the right baseline. But there would be no dream beginning for Howard, as Celtics forward Dino Radja swatted away his first shot.
Shortly afterward a chant of "we want Chris" began to fill the arena, and with 2:30 left in the quarter Webber entered the game in place of Kevin Duckworth.
Howard would finish the quarter missing all four of his shots, and grabbing two rebounds. Webber didn't take a shot, and grabbed two boards. But in their short time on the floor together the Bullets showed signs of being a running team, as Webber and Howard did a nice job filling the lanes on the fast break.
Trailing 31-28, Howard opened the second quarter with a short hook shot -- off a feed from Webber. Then Webber got his first basket on a layup with 9:41 left. The 6-foot-10 second-year forward then swatted a layup by Wilkins, beginning a fast break that ended with a dunk by Don MacLean and a 34-33 lead.
Neither Webber nor Howard really have a full grasp of the Bullets' offensive and defensive schemes, which was clearly evident with the Bullets being out of position numerous times. Howard would hit just one of seven shots, to go along with three rebounds and two fouls. Webber, in 11 minutes, had four points, three rebounds and one block.
The Celtics, who limited Washington to 39.6 percent field-goal shooting in the half, got 17 points from Radja and 12 from Dee Brown to take a 58-49 halftime lead.
Webber and Howard played the role of cheerleaders when the Bullets tried to take control of the game in the third quarter. Duckworth started things off with a hook shot and Cheaney followed with a three-pointer. They were the first five points of a 23-5 run, which the Bullets ended with 12 straight points, to assume a 72-63 lead with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
However the Bullets would hit just two field goals the rest of the quarter. Boston would score the final seven points to tie the game at 78 going into the final period.