Richard Jefferson scored 21 of his 27 points after halftime, and the New Jersey Nets broke open a tight game in the fourth quarter, beating the Washington Wizards 112-100 on Tuesday night for their sixth consecutive victory.
Jefferson shot 11-for-15 overall, including 4-for-4 in the final period when New Jersey outscored Washington 41-30. That's the most points the Wizards have allowed in a quarter this season.
Vince Carter scored 28 points -- topping 20 for the 11th game in a row -- while Jason Kidd had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in his matchup with Washington's All-Star point guard, Gilbert Arenas. Over their careers, Kidd usually gets the better of their individual matchups, but Arenas held his own Tuesday, finishing with 25 points and eight assists before fouling out.
Caron Butler also scored 25 for the Wizards, and Antawn Jamison had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Mavericks 88, Rockets 72
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and the Mavericks harassed Houston's Yao Ming into his worst game in a month.
Dallas won for the fourth time in five games to remain a half-game behind San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference. Yao finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Houston. It was his fewest points in 15 games, since scoring only six in 9 minutes against Phoenix on Feb. 16.
Jerry Stackhouse had 16 points and five assists for the Mavericks, and Jason Terry scored 12.
Grizzlies 105, Pacers 75
At Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol had 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Memphis beat Indiana to win its fourth straight game.
Shane Battier and Bobby Jackson finished with 14 points apiece for Memphis, while Eddie Jones, Chucky Atkins and Mike Miller each scored 11. Jones had seven rebounds and Miller and Jackson added five assists each. Gasol also had four blocks. The Grizzlies led 84-60 after three.
Jeff Foster and Anthony Johnson each scored 15 points for the Pacers, who had only three points in the first 8 minutes of the fourth quarter. Indiana has lost three of its last four games.
Raptors 114, Knicks 109
At New York, Mike James scored 37 points and Toronto won for the fourth time in five games.
Chris Bosh added 31 points and carried the Raptors for much of the fourth quarter, when James was quiet. Charlie Villanueva finished with 15.
Besides the game, the Knicks lost Channing Frye early in the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee ligament. X-rays were negative, but Frye was to remain in New York for further testing instead of traveling with the Knicks yesterday's game in Orlando.
Frye finished with 19 points and Jamal Crawford added 16 for the Knicks.
Bobcats 108, Magic 102
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Gerald Wallace scored 27 points and Charlotte sent Orlando to its team-record 16th straight road loss.
Raymond Felton added 16 points and 13 assists and Primoz Brezec scored 22 for the second-year Bobcats, who snapped a four-game losing streak and won their 19th game, one more than all of last year.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who never led. Orlando, which hasn't won on the road since Jan. 26 at Philadelphia, broke the old team record for consecutive road defeats set in the 1989-90 season.
Timberwolves 100, Heat 96
At Minneapolis, Ricky Davis had 26 points, a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds to lead Minnesota past Miami.
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