WASHINGTON (AP) — Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points and Caron Butler had 30 on Saturday as Washington Wizards broke out of a slump by beating the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons 110-92.
The Wizards ended a five-game losing streak by beating Detroit in two overtimes on Nov. 25, and they are still the only Eastern Conference team with a road win over the Pistons. On Saturday, the Wizards ended a 1-5 slide and kept themselves from moving below .500.
Washington and Utah are the only teams with two victories over Detroit this season.
Rasheed Wallace scored 18, and Richard Hamilton had 16 for the Pistons, who had won seven straight road against the Wizards. Tony Delk scored a season-high 16 points off the bench.
Suns 110, Timberwolves 102
At Phoenix, Steve Nash tied his season high with 31 points and added 11 assists in his return to the lineup, and Phoenix beat Minnesota.
Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost their fourth straight game.
Nash was out of the lineup with a sprained right ankle when the Suns’ 11-game win streak ended Thursday night in a 117-83 loss to San Antonio, Phoenix’s worst home loss of the year. Backup point guard Leandro Barbosa, who had a groin injury, also missed the game.
Mavericks 90, Jazz 87
At Salt Lake City, Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points, including 12 in a decisive stretch of the fourth quarter as Dallas pulled away from Utah.
Nowitzki had struggled this season against the Jazz, averaging 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two previous meetings. But he made 14 of 25 shots Saturday, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and had nine rebounds.
Mehmet Okur scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Andrei Kirilenko had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who were trying for their first three-game winning streak in two months.
Clippers 106, Bucks 98
At Milwaukee, Chris Kaman and Elton Brand scored 22 points apiece to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over Milwaukee.
Sam Cassell, in his return to Milwaukee, added 20 points for the Clippers, who used a late 11-2 run to take control.
Michael Redd led the Bucks with 31 points, but he was 1-of-8 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Bobcats 116, Knicks 109
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Jumaine Jones scored 28 points to help Charlotte beat New York and edge ahead of the Knicks in the battle to avoid the worst record in the NBA.
The victory moved the Bobcats to 18-45 and helped them match their win total from last year’s expansion season. New York dropped to 17-44, a humiliating mark for the team with the NBA’s highest payroll at 3 million.
Bulls 95, Hawks 90
At Atlanta, Luol Deng set an early high-energy pace with his fast-break baskets, and Chicago never let Atlanta catch up in its sixth straight win in the series.
The Bulls, who swept four games from the Hawks last season, have won the first two games in this season’s series. Chicago never trailed and held off a late comeback sparked by Al Harrington, who scored 32.
Magic 103, Warriors 92
At Orlando, Florida, Hedo Turkoglu scored 21 points and tied his career high with 14 rebounds as Orlando beat Golden State.
Golden State trailed 86-67 with 11 minutes remaining, but cut the deficit to 95-91 with 1:29 to play on a 20-footer by Calbert Cheaney. Baron Davis scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Warriors’ rally, but Turkoglu made a 3-pointer to stop the run.
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