WASHINGTON - Gilbert Arenas scored 25, Etan Thomas worked hard for a career-high 18 and 10 rebounds, and the Wizards kept rookie LeBron James winless on the road with a 106-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night.
James scored a career-high 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting with eight assists and seven rebounds, but Thomas was the biggest force in the game. He came off the bench to cap an eventful evening that started when he got rear-ended in a car accident on the way to the arena.
Thomas wasn't hurt, but he showed little regard for his body as he flung himself around in the paint for loose balls and seven tough offensive rebounds. He and Ira Newble were assessed double technicals in the fourth quarter following an altercation that ended with Newble throwing the ball.
Chris Mihm added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who are 0-7 on the road this season and 0-28 since January of last season.
LAKERS 104, KNICKS 83: Karl Malone was one of three Lakers to make more free throws than host New York attempted, helping Los Angeles end its three-game road losing streak.
The Lakers had a whopping 47-6 edge in free throw attempts in a game that featured 53 fouls - 34 on the Knicks.
Malone had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Shaquille O'Neal had 23 points and Kobe Bryant added 21 as the Lakers won with ease against a Knicks team that was short-handed to begin with - Keith Van Horn sat out with a sprained ankle - and was further depleted by the referees' frequent whistles.
The Lakers were 37-for-47 from the line, while New York was 6-for-6.
The Knicks got into immediate foul trouble, with Allan Houston, Kurt Thomas and Dikembe Mutombo each picking up two personals within the first 51/2 minutes.
SIXERS 81, RAPTORS 75: Marc Jackson scored a season-high 23, Aaron McKie added 21 and visiting Philadelphia prevailed despite playing without Allen Iverson and two other starters.
Iverson, the NBA's leading scorer, missed his first game in more than a year with a swollen right knee, ending a streak of 110 consecutive games played.
Glenn Robinson (sprained left ankle) and Derrick Coleman (strained left knee) also stayed in Philadelphia.
Vince Carter scored 20 for the Raptors, who lost at home for the first time after winning their first five home games.
HORNETS 81, CELTICS 73: Baron Davis scored 17 and P.J. Brown added 12 and 16 rebounds to lead visiting New Orleans to its fourth straight victory.
Paul Pierce had 23 points for the Celtics, who were held to a season-low in points and now have dropped six of nine games.
ROCKETS 85, WARRIORS 83: Yao Ming scored 23 and supplied almost all of Houston's offense in the fourth quarter to hand visiting Golden State its fourth loss in a row. Yao had 15 of the Rockets' 21 points in the final period, but with Houston leading by a point with 15 seconds left, he missed two free throws. Kelvin Cato made a foul shot with two seconds remaining for the final margin.
PACERS 91, CLIPPERS 78: Al Harrington scored 22 and grabbed nine rebounds to lead host Indiana. Jeff Foster added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who improved to an NBA-best 9-2. Harrington started in place of All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal, who missed the game with tendinitis in his right knee.
PISTONS 99, GRIZZLIES 92: Chauncey Billups scored a season-high 33, including 14 during a key third-quarter rally, as visiting Detroit won its third straight and ended Memphis' three-game winning streak. Billups, who had 25 points in the second half, not only sparked Detroit's big run but also thwarted Memphis' comeback attempts with clutch baskets in the final quarter.
KINGS 118, JAZZ 110: Peja Stojakovic scored 30 and Sacramento handed Utah its first home loss of the season. Mike Bibby finished with 18 points and Brad Miller had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Sacramento, which won its seventh straight regular-season game at Utah.
NUGGETS 94, BUCKS 86: Andre Miller hit a basket in the lane with 2:33 left, capping an 8-0 run, for host Denver. Miller finished with 17 points and eight assists.
BLAZERS 94, HEAT 93: Qyntel Woods hit two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining, lifting host Portland. Rasheed Wallace had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who trailed by 14 in the fourth quarter before rallying. Eddie Jones scored 26 and rookie Dwyane Wade added 24 to lead the Heat. Earlier, the Heat activated forward Samaki Walker from the injured list and placed forward Jerome Beasley on the list with a lower back strain.
