PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Larry Hughes' layup in the lane with 10 seconds left lifted the Washington Wizards to an 81-80 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Hughes had 18 points through three quarters but just two in the first 11 1/2 minutes of the fourth. With leading scorer Gilbert Arenas sidelined with an abdominal injury and a chance to win the game, the Wizards put the ball in the hands of the Hughes.
The slashing guard did not disappoint, knifing through the Portland defense for an easy basket that put Washington ahead.
"He just took the game over," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "I felt the last two buckets were indicative of how he wanted to take over the game."
"With this offense, we always have two or three options," Hughes said. "They said come off the pick and they would give it to me. The guy jumped out at me and I saw the opening down the middle."
After a timeout, Portland's Jeff McInnis tried to penetrate but managed only a wild off-balance attempt that hit high off the glass and was run down by Washington's Brevin Knight. The Trail Blazers were unable to foul and the Wizards ran out the clock.
"I gave it to Rasheed (Wallace) and he handed it back to me," McInnis said. "I turned the corner and hopefully Damon (Stoudamire's) man helped out and I'd throw it back to Rasheed, but the lane opened up and I felt like I had a shot."
Etan Thomas had 12 points and Kwame Brown 10 for Washington, which improved to 1-2 on a four-game road trip. Hughes came within one point of matching a season high.
Zach Randolph led Portland with 24 points and 15 rebounds. McInnis finished with 19 points, but the Trail Blazers lost for just the third time in the last 12 meetings with Washington.
Portland also had a five-game home winning streak snapped and fell to 7-7, the same record it had after 14 games in 2002-03.
"We will get it figured out," Randolph said. "We just need to stay positive and put this behind us."
Portland opened the fourth quarter with a 60-59 lead, but neither team was able to pull away and the game was deadlocked, 74-74, with 3:02 left. McInnis hit a jumper with 84 seconds to go for an 80-77 lead, but Thomas buried a jump hook 48 seconds later.
Qyntel Woods missed for Portland with 20 seconds remaining and Hughes put the Wizards on top with his layup.
Washington offset a 47-28 rebounding disadvantage by making 6-of-10 3-point attempts and 15-of-17 free throws. Portland was just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc and committed 20 turnovers.
"We need a little more focus offensively," Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We had a lot of turnovers trying to post the ball. It was just a very bad day for posting the ball."
