Wizards 108, Celtics 91
At Boston, Gilbert Arenas scored 38 points and Caron Butler added 26 as the
Wizards moved a stop closer to qualifying for the playoffs for a second straight
season. The last time Washington made the playoffs in consecutive seasons was
when it had five straight berths in the 1980s. Washington currently is fifth in
the East.
Paul Pierce scored 29 points for the Celtics to surpass 2,000 points on the
season for the fourth time of his career, tying Larry Bird's franchise record.
Magic 108, Bucks 105
At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu had 24 points, including two key last-minute
free throws and a steal. It was the Magic's eighth straight win at home. Dwight
Howard had 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Milwaukee guard T.J. Ford finished with a career-high 34 points, 11 assists
and six rebounds, while Bucks star Michael Redd had 25 points and six rebounds.
Knicks 96, Cavaliers 94
At New York, Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 37 points, including the
go-ahead jumper with 6.4 seconds left. The Knicks snapped their nine-game losing
streak and ended Cleveland's winning streak at nine. They were doing it easily
until LeBron James helped the Cavs erase all of a 19-point fourth-quarter
deficit.
James scored 21 of his 36 points in the final period, including a basket that
tied it for the final time at 94 with 27 seconds left. But Crawford hit a
high-arching jumper to put New York back ahead.
James scored 35 or more points for the eighth straight game, but Cleveland
failed to win 10 straight for the first time since 1997.
Pacers 111, Raptors 103
At Indianapolis, Peja Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson scored 25 points each as
the Pacers (36-38) snapped a five-game losing streak. They hold the seventh spot
in the East, a half-game behind sixth-place Milwaukee.