Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards recovered after blowing a 14-point second-half lead to end the franchise-record 13-game winning streak of LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers with a 109-101 victory yesterday.
Arenas, playing his second game of the season in his latest attempt to return from knee surgery, had with 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting and 10 assists and six rebounds in 33 minutes.
Brendan Haywood, making his first start of the season, had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who also received the usual steady contributions from Caron Butler (25 points) and Antawn Jamison (19).
James scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half and finished with six assists and nine rebounds.
Nuggets 114, Jazz 104
At Denver, J.R. Smith sank a career-high eight 3-pointers in his 28 points as Denver downed Utah to reach 50 wins faster than any time in its NBA history.
Smith's 3-pointers were one short of the franchise mark set by Michael Adams in 1991 and tied four years later by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
Carmelo Anthony added 23 points for the Nuggets, who are seeking home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 1988.
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin, who recently returned to full health after dealing with a bad back for a month, went to the locker room in the third quarter with what the team described as a cartilage strain in his left rib cage. X-rays were negative but he didn't return to action.
C.J. Miles led six Jazz in double figures with 19 points.
76ers 105, Bucks 95
At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala scored 20 points and Lou Williams had 14 of his 21 in the second half as Philadelphia rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat Milwaukee.
Andre Miller contributed 18 points and 11 assists for the Sixers (39-35), who won their second straight and vaulted past Miami into fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Ramon Sessions led Milwaukee with his second straight stellar outing, getting 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds a night after his first career triple-double.
(Agencie via Shanghai Daily April 3, 2009)
