EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Caron Butler had 22 points and 10 assists, and DeShawn Stevenson added 21 to lead the Washington Wizards to an easy 108-88 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night.
The victory was the first road win of the season for the Wizards (3-12) and their first win over an Eastern Conference opponent after 11 straight losses.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Nets (9-8), who won all three contests on the road. The Nets were led by Devin Harris, who had 18 points, but only three after halftime, and Vince Carter, who had 16 points. Keyon Dooling added 14 off the bench for the Nets.
After a closely contested first half, the Wizards blew the game open, outscoring New Jersey 35-12 in the third period.
The Wizards led 51-50 at halftime, then outscored the Nets 14-3 over the first 4:54 of the second half to take a commanding 65-53 lead. Butler and Antawn Jamison (22 points) each scored four points in the game-deciding run.
The Nets cut the lead to 70-60 on a three-point play by Carter. But the Wizards went on a 16-1 run over the next three minutes and coasted from there. Full story
Pistons 89, Spurs 77
SAN ANTONIO -- Rasheed Wallace made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 19 points as the Detroit Pistons rallied from 10 points down to beat San Antonio night despite the return of Manu Ginobili to the Spurs' starting lineup.
Allen Iverson also scored 19 for Detroit (11-6), which has won two of three. Richard Hamilton added 16 points and Tayshaun Prince scored 15.
The Spurs (9-8) have dropped two straight after winning four in a row. They were led by Tim Duncan, who had 23 points, but just one point in the fourth quarter.
Ginobili scored 13 in his first start of the season after missing the first 12 games because of offseason ankle surgery.
Nuggets 132, Raptors 93
DENVER -- Thanks to Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony doesn't have to shoulder the Denver Nuggets' offense while grappling with an ailing right elbow.
Billups had 24 points and 14 assists in Denver's rout of the Toronto Raptors in a game that was out of reach by halftime.
After a slow start, Anthony finished with 23 points 48 hours after scoring just one bucket in 14 agonizing minutes against Houston, which snapped his NBA-best double-digit streak at 222 games.
Jermaine O'Neal returned from a sprained left ankle that had cost him three games and he scored 12 points to go with Chris Bosh's 24, but they couldn't keep the Raptors from being routed.
