Wizards, Arenas go the distance

He couldn't make a 3-pointer the last time he was at Madison Square Garden, but Gilbert Arenas knew he was hot from the minute he showed up in New York last night.

Actually, he knew even before that.

Arenas scored 38 points, and the Washington Wizards used a sizzling performance from 3-point range to beat the New York Knicks, 113-102, for their first road victory of the season.

Arenas missed all seven 3-point attempts in Washington's previous trip to New York. Asked when he realized that things would be different this time, Arenas asked, "What's today?"

Told it was Wednesday, Arenas responded: "Monday. It was going to be a different night. I told you I turned the heaters up already. So I came into the game already on fire."

It didn't take long for Antawn Jamison and the rest of the Wizards to join him.

In a complete turnaround from their most recent visit to New York, the Wizards went 14 of 20 from behind the arc, tying the franchise record and matching an NBA season high for makes. In a 102-82 loss in New York Nov. 15, the Wizards tied an NBA record for futility by misfiring on all 15 3-point attempts.

Arenas and Jamison combined to go 0 for 11 that night, but each made six yesterday.

"The difference in the game was the 3-point line," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "They were on fire."

Jamison added a season-high 33 points for Washington.

Cavaliers 95, Raptors 91 -- LeBron James scored 26 points and did everything Cleveland needed him to do in the final minutes, rallying the host Cavaliers.

With Cleveland down by 7, James dished out three assists, grabbed a rebound, and scored 5 points -- 2 on a dunk -- during a 13-0 burst that put the Cavs ahead, 90-86. James finished with 10 assists -- four in the final 12 minutes.

Hornets 105, Lakers 89 -- Chris Paul had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Rasual Butler added 22 points, and visiting New Orleans snapped its season-high five-game losing streak. Kobe Bryant scored 24 and Lamar Odom added 20 for the Lakers.

Bucks 102, Trail Blazers 94 -- Michael Redd scored 33 points to help host Milwaukee to an overtime win. Redd scored 19 of his points after the end of the third quarter, including a key basket early in overtime.

Timberwolves 90, Rockets 84 -- Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 12 rebounds and led a strong defensive effort by host Minnesota against Houston and Yao Ming. Yao had 14 points and eight rebounds, shooting only 5 for 19 from the field.

Pacers 94, Magic 80 -- Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington each scored 26 points to lead host Indiana.

Spurs 96, Bobcats 76 -- Tim Duncan shook off a slow start to score 25 points and San Antonio avenged a surprising home loss to Charlotte with a victory in Charlotte, N.C.

Hawks 98, Nuggets 96 -- Joe Johnson scored 27 points and Shelden Williams made two free throws with five seconds left to lead visiting Atlanta. The Hawks held Carmelo Anthony under 30 points for the first time in seven games.

Bulls 121, 76ers 94 -- Ben Gordon scored 17 of his 31 points in the first quarter as host Chicago handed Philadelphia its fifth straight loss and 12th in 14 games.