Arenas helps Wizards top Raptors 129-109

WASHINGTON --Gilbert Arenas scored 25 points in his best shooting game since December, and the Washington Wizards won a matchup of first-place teams Tuesday night by dominating the boards in a 129-109 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Arenas broke out of a slump by making nine of 13 field goals, including five 3-pointers, but the most telling statistic was Washington's 33-10 advantage in second-chance points. The Wizards had 49 rebounds to the Raptors' season-low 27, easily negating Toronto's 52 percent shooting.

Antawn Jamison also scored 25 points, and Antonio Daniels added 18 for the Wizards, who have won three straight since Jamison and Caron Butler both returned from injuries. Washington had lost twice this season to Toronto on the road, but now has a chance to gain a draw in the season series when the teams meet for the final time March 30.

Chris Bosh scored 25 points lead the Raptors, who have lost three straight, but had only one rebound. Toronto had been 14-0 when shooting better than 50 percent, but the league's second-worst rebounding team didn't score off of an offensive rebound until Kris Humphries' dunk in the final minute of the first half.

The Wizards' 129 points topped the season-high the Raptors allowed in their last game, a 120-97 loss at Cleveland on Saturday.

Juan Dixon, who scored a season-high 24 points against the Cavaliers, was rewarded with his first start since he was traded from Portland to Toronto two weeks ago. He finished with 14 points.

The first basket of the game was by Jamison after an offensive rebound, a tone-setter if there ever was one. In the first quarter, the Raptors' hot shooting was enough to offset their rebounding deficiency, but the Wizards began to pull away when Daniels had his best spurt of the season.

Daniels, who has been averaging only 6.4 points per game, went 6-for-6 and scored 15 points in the second quarter. He hit 3-pointers, drove into the paint for layups and made two steals. The Wizards scored 40 in the period and led by as many 17. The score was 71-57 at the break, even though the Raptors were shooting 63 percent. The Wizards' rebounding advantage was 23-10.

Arenas took charge early in the third quarter with three quick 3-pointers. Arenas' biggest struggles lately have been from 3-point range, and his five 3-pointers were his most in a game since Jan. 30. It was his best shooting game overall since a 9-for-13 performance on Dec. 26.

The Wizards led 101-83 after three periods and opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run.

Notes:@ Toronto F Andrea Bargnani returned after missing Saturday's game to be with his ailing grandfather in Italy. ... Raptors G Anthony Parker missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle. ... Wizards C Etan Thomas was excused from the game to attend to a family matters. He was not expected to travel with the team to Atlanta for Wednesday's game against the Hawks. ... Washington C Brendan Haywood returned after missing one game with back spasms. ... The win evened the all-time series between the teams 22-22. ... Toronto has lost six straight in Washington.