The most hated man in Cleveland finally backed up his big words with a big performance Wednesday night.
Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson — better known as the star of the Soujla Boy soap opera — made a number of key plays as time wound down, helping Washington rally for an 88-87 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Ironically, while Stevenson has become famous for making inflammatory remarks about LeBron James, he was a picture of decorum following his 17-point, five-rebound performance.
“I always play good at home, but not here, so it feels good to embrace the role and help our team win,” a calm and composed Stevenson said. “I just told myself tonight that I was going to be aggressive here. I got a good rhythm going, and it just kept going.”
Though Stevenson’s shooting line was shaky (5-of-14 field goals, 2-of-7 on 3-pointers, 5-of-6 free throws), his overall game was solid as a rock.
The 6-foot-5 slasher played solid defense against James, Wally Szczerbiak and Devin Brown all night, but was at his best on the game’s final sequence.
With 3.9 seconds left and the Wizards clinging to a one-point lead, Stevenson funneled a driving James toward the middle of the paint, where center Darius Songaila was waiting.
Both Wizards made more than incidental contact with “The King,” but no foul was called and James missed the shot, keeping Washington alive in the best-of-seven series.
“I tried to get him up close to make him drive hard to the basket (instead of pulling up for a shot),” Stevenson said. “I did that, and Darius was able to get him there and make the play.
“Our players have really learned to work together and work hard with the way things have gone this season. We’re a better team because of it.”
Stevenson’s postgame remarks were so agreeable, he even complimented the sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena  — despite being serenaded with a vulgar chant all night.
“It’s tough playing here,” he said. “The crowd is always loud and they’ll do anything to help the Cavs win. They’re doing their thing and I’m doing mine. It was fun.”
The eighth-year pro also collected two assists and one steal in 36 minutes, along with a first-quarter technical foul for slapping Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao on the butt after play had been stopped.
It was, by far, the most innocuous “T” the Wizards have earned in the series, and was largely forgotten by the final buzzer, much to the Wizards’ delight.
“It’s the Wizards vs. the Cavaliers, it’s not LeBron vs. DeShawn, or the Wizards trying to hurt anybody,” Washington center Brendan Haywood said. “It’s about basketball, and I’m glad the questions tonight are about basketball.”
So was Stevenson, who conceded that some of his angry words directed at James were nothing more than a diversionary tactic. It was clear, however, that he enjoyed letting his play speak for itself, at least for one night.
 “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win a game, don’t you?” Stevenson said. “We won a game. That’s what we came here to do. Now we’ve got to do that at home on Friday to get back here again.”
Contact Brian Dulik at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

 

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