By RICK NOLAND

Assistant Sports Editor

CLEVELAND — Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was not in uniform Wednesday for Game 5 against the Cavaliers due to a pinched nerve in the back of his surgically repaired knee.

“It’s frustrating because I would do anything (to play),” Arenas said prior to the game at Quicken Loans Arena.

The eighth-year pro took a pain-killing shot and four medications in an attempt to play, but the discomfort didn’t lessen, so he decided to shut it down for the season.

“For him, it’s probably the right thing,” Cavaliers small forward LeBron James said. “He wants to play so bad, but at the same time his knee hasn’t responded the right way.”

Arenas started Games 3 and 4 in Washington, but Antonio Daniels moved back into the starting point guard spot for Game 5.

“(Arenas) is a very good player,” James said before the game. “I know it’s going to be very tough for him not to be out there.”

 

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TOWER OF POWER: DeShawn Stevenson might have had some towering problems at Tower City, but he was in the company of towering Wizards teammates Andray Blatche, Nick Young and Arenas during his trip to the mall Tuesday night. “About five people wanted to fight me,” Stevenson said Wednesday morning at the Wizards’ shootaround. “Luckily, I had me, Dre, Gil. … If I had gone to the mall by myself, I probably would have gotten jumped.” Stevenson, who called James “overrated” on March 13, has a certain knack for publicity, as he sported a Michael Vick Atlanta Falcons jersey when the Wizards arrived at their Cleveland hotel. “It doesn’t bother me,” Stevenson said when asked about the reaction of the Cleveland fans. “It bothers everybody else. I’m just going out there and playing ball. It’s all on the court now. The talking is over.” Not with Cavalier fans at the mall, who brought up everything from the Soulja Boy vs. Jay-Z saga to Stevenson’s flagrant foul on James in Game 4. “What didn’t they say?” Stevenson said when asked about his trip to the mall. “They talked about Jay-Z, all that stuff, about how I fouled LeBron. I didn’t do it on purpose. It was kind of tough, but I don’t care.”

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HE’S GONE: Avery Johnson, who led Dallas to the NBA Finals in 2006, was fired one day after the Mavericks were eliminated in the first round by New Orleans. “I feel bad for Avery and his family,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “He did a nice job there. The reality of it is, he got paid a lot of money to face the pressure. Avery’s going to get another (head coaching) job whenever he wants it.”

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TIP-INS: Seldom-used Cavaliers guard Damon Jones was presented with the Cleveland media’s annual Austin Carr Good Guy award prior to the game. Previous winners were Larry Hughes in 2006 and Drew Gooden in ‘07, which probably doesn’t bode well for Jones’ future in Cleveland. … Sasha Pavlovic, who sprained his ankle in the next-to-last game of the regular season, was in uniform for the first time in the series and said he was ready to play if needed.

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