Final Score: Washington 129, Golden State 124
Washington, DC (Basketball News) - Gilbert Arenas poured in 45 points and Caron Butler netted a season-best 34 to lead Washington to a 129-124 victory over Golden State at the MCI Center. Butler added a game-high 15 rebounds and Washington climbed over .500 for the first time since November 19 with its fifth win in six outings. Arenas made an impressive 23-of-25 free throw attempts and the Wizards ended 48-of-55 from the charity stripe to snap the Warriors’ two-game win streak. Jason Richardson delivered 31 points while Baron Davis had 28 along with 13 assists for Golden State, which has lost its last six on the road. Mickael Pietrus finished with 18 points and Troy Murphy had 14 along with 12 rebounds in the setback.
Final Score: Indiana 101, Portland 69
Indianapolis, IN (Basketball News) - Stephen Jackson poured in 25 points and Peja Stojakovic tallied 23, as the Indiana Pacers cruised to a 101-69 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Fred Jones scored 14 points, David Harrison contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds and Danny Granger added 11 — all off the bench — in the victory. Scot Pollard scored six points and pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds for Indiana, which boosted its winning streak to three games. Zach Randolph led Portland with 25 points, but even he did most of his damage from the free throw line. The forward drained 13-of-16 from the stripe and the club made 26-of-36 on the night. The starting backcourt of Maryland Terrapin products, Steve Blake and Juan Dixon, combined to make just 2-of-13 from the floor in Portland’s second straight defeat.
Final Score: New Jersey 96, New York 83
East Rutherford, NJ (Basketball News) - Vince Carter scored 22 points and dished out seven assists to lead the New Jersey Nets over the New York Knicks, 96-83, at Continental Airlines Arena. Richard Jefferson added 18 points and eight assists for the Nets, who have won three straight overall. Nenad Krstic chipped in 14 points and eight boards for New Jersey. Jalen Rose scored 22 points to lead New York, which has dropped seven straight and 13 of 14. Channing Frye added 17 points for the Knicks, who again played without injured guard Stephon Marbury and got just 10 points from their starting backcourt of Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson.
Final Score: Charlotte 100, Philadelphia 92
Charlotte, NC (Basketball News) - Melvin Ely paced a balanced Charlotte attack with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Bobcats bested Philadelphia 100-92. Rookie Raymond Felton added 15 points before leaving the game with a sprained ankle for the Bobcats, who won a third straight game for the first time in franchise history. Former Sixer Jumaine Jones recorded a double- double with 14 points and 14 boards while Brevin Knight had 13 points and dished out 14 assists in the win. Allen Iverson and Kyle Korver each paced the Sixers, who lost their second straight and for the fourth time in their past five outings, with 20 points. Iverson, who had scored at least 30 points in his last seven outings, was held to just one point in the fourth quarter. Chris Webber added 17 points and 12 boards in the loss while Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and five blocks.
Final Score: Detroit 97, LA Clippers 87
Detroit, MI (Basketball News) - Tayshaun Prince scored half of his 22 points during a big fourth-quarter run to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 97-87 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers. Rasheed Wallace tallied 19 points and Chauncey Billups added 18 for the Pistons, who became the first NBA team to reach 40 wins (40-8) and snapped their only two-game skid so far this season. Detroit has won eight in a row at The Palace. Elton Brand had 30 points and nine rebounds and Cuttino Mobley ended with 27 for the Clippers, who had a four-game victory streak snapped. Chris Kaman totaled 13 points for Los Angeles, which lost for only the second time in 11 contests. The Clippers finished 4-2 on their six-game road trip.
Final Score: Milwaukee 94, Orlando 89 (2-OT)
Milwaukee, WI (Basketball News) - Michael Redd scored 27 points and Jamaal Magloire grabbed 18 rebounds as Milwaukee beat Orlando, 94-89, in double overtime at the Bradley Center. Dan Gadzuric scored 17 points, while Bobby Simmons scored 15 for Milwaukee, which has won two of its last three games. T.J. Ford scored 11 points and Charlie Bell added 10. Hedo Turkoglu scored 27 points to pace Orlando, which lost its second straight game and fourth in a row on the road. DeShawn Stevenson scored 14 points, and Dwight Howard posted 11 points and 14 rebounds. Pat Garrity added 10 points. Orlando shot 3-for-17 in the two overtimes.
Final Score: New Orleans/Oklahoma City 109, Seattle 102
Oklahoma City, OK (Basketball News) - Rasual Butler’s wide-open three with 15 ticks left put New Orleans/Oklahoma City in front to stay, as the Hornets defeated Seattle, 109-102, at the Ford Center. David West poured in 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and P.J. Brown added 21 points and nine boards in the Hornets’ fifth victory in six games. Butler scored 14 points and Kirk Snyder posted a double-double with 16 points and a career-high 12 assists in the victory. Rashard Lewis scored a game-high 34 points and Ray Allen struggled to 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting. Luke Ridnour and Nick Collison scored 12 points apiece in Seattle’s fourth straight loss.
Final Score: Cleveland 97, Minnesota 91
Minneapolis, MN (Basketball News) - LeBron James narrowly missed a triple- double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, as Cleveland rallied from a 15-point deficit for a 97-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. Zydrunas Ilgauskas ended with 21 points for the Cavaliers, who have won back-to-back contests and nine of their last 11. Donyell Marshall totaled 10 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which outrebounded the Timberwolves, 51-41. Kevin Garnett had 21 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, while Ricky Davis tied a season-best with 33 points for the Timberwolves, who have dropped four of their last five.
Final Score: LA Lakers 89, Houston 78
Houston, TX (Basketball News) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the second half to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over the Houston Rockets, 89-78. Bryant hit 13-of-29 shots and keyed a crucial 16-3 run late in the third quarter to help the Lakers end a four-game slide and finish a season-long seven-game road trip 2-5. Brian Cook added 27 points and 10 boards for Los Angeles, which ended a three-game slide to the Rockets and evened the season series with Houston at a game apiece. Rafer Alston had a team-high 16 points and eight assist for the Rockets, who had a four-game win streak halted. Tracy McGrady was held to just 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting for Houston, which opened a three-game homestand by having its two-game win streak at the Toyota Center halted.
Final Score: Phoenix 108, Memphis 102
Phoenix, AZ (Basketball News) - Shawn Marion recorded 21 points and pulled down 16 boards before fouling out with 7.7 seconds remaining to lead Phoenix to a 108-102 win over Memphis at US Airways Center. The league’s reigning MVP, Steve Nash, hit three key free throws down the stretch and also contributed a double-double for the Suns, who have won four of their last five games. Nash finished with 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds on the night. Leandro Barbosa added a game-high 24 points off the bench while Boris Diaw had 18 points and James Jones had 16 in the win. Bobby Jackson netted 17 points for the Grizzlies, who lost their fourth straight outing. Eddie Jones added 16 points while Pau Gasol had 15 points and Antonio Burks had 12 in the loss.
Final Score: Chicago 110, Denver 107
Denver, CO (Basketball News) - Ben Gordon scored 30 points to lead the Chicago Bulls past Denver, 110-107, at the Pepsi Center. Darius Songaila scored 21 points for the Bulls, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Luol Deng scored 16 points, while Andres Nocioni added 15. Tyson Chandler grabbed 14 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points to pace Denver, which has lost six of its last seven games following a seven-game winning streak. Andre Miller scored 22 points, while Earl Watson scored 14 points. Eduardo Najera scored 13 points, and Earl Boykins added 12.
