NBA Game Summary - Indiana at Washington

Washington, DC (Basketball News) - Gilbert Arenas sprang for 20 points and dished out five assists as the Washington Wizards soured Peja Stojakovic’s Indiana debut with an 84-79 win over the Pacers at the MCI Center.

Antawn Jamison posted a double-double with 19 points and 18 rebounds for the Wizards, who have won three of their last four.

Stojakovic had a team-high 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting for Indiana, which has dropped six in a row. He finished just 1-of-6 from behind the arc.

The 6-10 forward was acquired from the Sacramento Kings last Wednesday for disgruntled forward Ron Artest. However, the three-time All-Star watched in street clothes on Friday as his new team was edged by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-89, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Fred Jones scored 16 points off the bench and fellow reserve Danny Granger added 13 for a Pacers team that was operating without injured players Jamaal Tinsley (elbow), Jeff Foster (back) and Jermaine O’Neal (groin).

The Wizards started the game on a 10-1 spurt and played front-runners for the remainder of the contest. They took a 48-41 lead into the locker room behind 11 points from both Caron Butler and Jamison.

The Pacers shot just 39.5 percent from the field in the first 24 minutes, with no starter scoring more than five points after two quarters.

Indiana pulled to within two, 48-46, after Stojakovic finished a 5-0 run with a pair of free throws to start the second half.

Washington, though, responded with a 12-4 surge capped by a pair of Brendan Haywood free throws to reclaim a double-digit advantage with 5:25 left in the third period.

After three quarters the Wizards led 63-54, and they maintained command through the rest of the contest.

The Pacers made a push late and Jones’ trey with nine seconds remaining pulled Indiana to within four at 83-79. But Arenas sank 1-of-2 from the charity stripe at the other end to seal the game.