Wizards wave wand at Kings

Arenas, the league’s fourth-leading scorer, was on the bench — a place very familiar to reserve guard Billy Thomas.

Thomas came off the pine and dropped in 14 points in Tuesday’s 97-84 win over the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena. The victory in Sacramento was the first for Milwaukee since the 1996 season.

Washington moved a season-high four games over .500 and 1 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-place Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference playoff race. It also improved to 3-1 on a crucial six-game road swing with tilts left at Houston and San Antonio.

The Wizards will play seven of their next nine games on the road where they own a 13-20 mark this season.

On an injury note, Wizards forward Caron Butler left Tuesday’s win in the third quarter with a cut on the top of his head. Kings forward Kenny Thomas came down on Butler during a battle for a rebound and was whistled for a flagrant foul.

Butler, who needed six stitches to close the gash, returned to the hardwood midway through the fourth quarter.