Jamison’s double-double debut leads Wiz past Cavs

WASHINGTON — LeBron James was stymied down the stretch by DeShawn Stevenson, Antawn Jamison delivered 31 points and 10 rebounds in his season debut, and the Washington Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-91 Wednesday night to end a six-game losing streak.

Wearing a white protective sleeve over the right shoulder that sidelined him since October, Jamison looked in midseason form from the start, scoring 13 points in the first quarter.

James finished with 34 points and nine assists, but he scored only six points in the fourth quarter while shooting 3 for 7. No one else scored more than 10 points for Cleveland, which was without the injured Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao.

The Cavaliers had been figuring out how to play short-handed, winning five consecutive games heading into Wednesday. But after racing to a 17-point lead in the second quarter, they allowed the Wizards to come back, led mainly by Jamison.

He did have help. Gilbert Arenas began 3 of 16 — and finished 6 for 22 — but wound up with 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Caron Butler had 19 points. The Wizards finally got to put all three of their past All-Stars on the court at the same time.

Jamison injured his shoulder during an exhibition game last month against Cleveland, coincidentally, and after that healed, he was sidelined with the flu.

After Jamison’s jumper put Washington ahead 60-57 midway through the third quarter, James went into take-over-the-game mode for the next 1½ minutes. He made three consecutive 3-pointers, a personal 9-0 run that gave the Cavaliers a 66-60 lead.

But Butler and Andray Blatche combined for 11 points during a 16-2 run that put the Wizards ahead 95-78 with a little more than 6 minutes remaining. Much of that stretch came with James taking a breather on the sideline.

When he returned to the court, instead of leading a comeback, James became part of the problem. He turned the ball over with an errant pass. He shot an airball on a jumper. He fouled Stevenson, his old pseudo-rival from postseasons past. He missed another jumper, with Stevenson in his face. And then James was whistled for a technical for arguing that a foul — and not a jump ball — should have been called when Stevenson’s hand stopped the reigning league MVP on a drive to the basket.

NOTES: James had seven assists in the first quarter. … The Wizards were without F Fabricio Oberto (left hamstring). … Cleveland didn’t have O’Neal (strained shoulder) or Varejao (bruised hip), but Jamario Moon did play despite spraining his left ankle in Tuesday’s victory over Golden State. Moon had 10 points and five rebounds. Local sports stars Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green of the Capitals, and Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals were in the sellout crowd of 20,173.