Hornets' Jefferson says 2OT loss to Wizards 'will haunt us all summer'

At least one Charlotte Hornet seems to feel that Friday night's heartbreaking 110-107 double-overtime loss to the Washington Wizards drove a nail into the team's coffin. 

The Hornets led for nearly the entire third quarter, and went into the fourth with a four-point edge. But their offense went ice-cold in the final frame, and over eight minutes passed before they even registered a field goal. 

That field goal, though, a short jumper by Jefferson, sparked a 9-3 run that put the Hornets ahead 95-91 with just 14 seconds to play. Then the Wizards got a quick three from Rasual Butler, the Hornets missed a free throw at the other end, and John Wall knotted things up with a 22-footer with two seconds left in regulation. 

Both teams had their chances in overtime, but neither seemed able to score. In the end it was Wall, who finished with a game-high 32 points, taking over in the second OT. He scored seven in the second extra frame, and Jefferson missed a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired. 

It was a much-needed win for the reeling Wizards, who busted out of a four-game losing streak, and a potentially devastating blow to the Hornets. Thanks to wins by the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, and an idle night from the Indiana Pacers, the Hornets slid all the way to 11th in the Eastern Conference, now a game-and-a-half back of the Celtics for the East's eighth and final playoff seed.