Arenas Scores 43 to Carry Wizards

Gilbert Arenas couldn’t seem to miss a shot. Tim Duncan couldn’t make one.

Arenas made 11 of his first 12 shots, including a 30-footer off the glass at the end of the third quarter, and scored 43 points to lead the Washington Wizards past Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, 110-95, Saturday night at Washington.

“When he gets going, he gets that swagger,” Washington’s other All-Star, Antawn Jamison, said of Arenas. “The guy’s unbelievable. I think he still doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He knows the more this team wins, the more recognition he gets.”

Said Spur Coach Gregg Popovich: “We tried everybody on him -- and he was great.”

Duncan made his first two shots and didn’t make another until a tip-in with just under six minutes left. He missed 15 consecutive shots.

He was three for 18 for 11 points and had 14 rebounds, barely keeping intact his run of a double-double in every game this season.

Manu Ginobili scored 28 points and Tony Parker had 23, keeping the Spurs in the game until late in the third quarter.

Jamison had 19 points and eight rebounds.

Arenas has steered the Wizards to their first 5-1 start since 1989-90. He has scored at least 30 points in half of this season’s games.

Dallas 109, New Orleans 103 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and Jason Terry had 26 to lead the Mavericks at Oklahoma City.

The Hornets drew a capacity crowd of 19,163 for the second time in three home games. This was the first time they played on the same day that the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State football teams also played at home.

Houston 99, New Jersey 91 -- Tracy McGrady-- making his return after sitting out three games because of back spasms -- scored 30 of his 35 points in the second half at East Rutherford, N.J., to help the Rockets end a three-game skid.

Jason Kidd had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who lost for the third time in four games.

Chicago 103, Utah 98 -- Luol Deng scored 21 points and Kirk Hinrich had 19 points and 11 assists for the host Bulls.

Mehmet Okur had a career-high 33 points and 17 rebounds for Utah, which played most of the game without Andrei Kirilenko, who left after injuring his left ankle early in the second quarter.

Phoenix 101, Golden State 86 -- Shawn Marion had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Raja Bell scored a season-high 20 points, helping Coach Mike D’Antoni get his 100th victory.

The victory was the Suns’ first in four home games. In their previous three losses, they blew double-digit leads in the second half.

Memphis 85, Atlanta 84 -- Pau Gasol’s tip-in at the final buzzer at Atlanta lifted the Grizzlies over the winless Hawks.

Shane Battier scored a season-high 22 points for Memphis. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 17 points.

Miami 108, Charlotte 99 -- Jason Williams scored 22 points at Miami to help hand the Bobcats their fourth consecutive defeat.

The Bobcats trailed by 20 points with 2:10 remaining.

Miami forward Antoine Walker had his streak of 487 consecutive starts ended. It had started May 5, 1999, when he played with Boston.

Milwaukee 103, Indiana 102 -- Mo Williams made a three-point basket at the buzzer and Michael Redd had 28 points to lead the Bucks at Milwaukee.

The Pacers wasted a season-high 27 points by Jermaine O’Neal and blew a 14-point lead late in the fourth quarter. They missed 10 free throws down the stretch as the Bucks rallied from a 96-82 deficit.