Wizards Beat the Pistons Again

If nothing else, the Washington Wizards can beat the Detroit Pistons.

For the second time this season, the Wizards broke out of a slump by beating the team with the NBA’s best record. Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points and Caron Butler had 30 in Saturday night’s 110-92 victory at Washington.

“After the game, we said, ‘Why can’t we play like this for 21 more games? With that sort of effort, that sort of discipline, that sort of force,’ ” Wizard Coach Eddie Jordan said. “That’s the challenge we’ll have every night.”

The Wizards ended a five-game losing streak by beating Detroit in two overtimes on Nov. 25, and they are the only Eastern Conference team with a road win over the Pistons. On Saturday, the Wizards ended a 1-5 slide and kept themselves from falling below .500.

Washington and Utah are the only teams with two victories over Detroit this season.

Rasheed Wallace scored 18 points, and Richard Hamilton had 16 for the Pistons, who have lost three of five, matching their worst stretch of the season.

“It’s probably just being a little overconfident,” point guard Chauncey Billups said, “coming out knowing that we can turn it on like a light switch and win the game, like we’ve done so many times.”

Phoenix 110, Minnesota 102 -- Steve Nash tied his season high with 31 points and had 11 assists in his return to the lineup, and the Suns beat the Timberwolves at Phoenix.

Nash sat out Thursday’s game with San Antonio because of a sprained ankle, and the Suns’ 11-game winning streak was stopped. Phoenix is 2-6 without Nash over the last two seasons and 114-44 with him.

Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota.

Dallas 90, Utah 87 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points, including 12 in a decisive stretch of the fourth quarter after Utah tied the game, and the Mavericks beat the host Jazz.

Carlos Boozer capped a 10-2 run and tied the score at 71 before Nowitzki took control. With the Jazz trying a variety of defenses to stop him, Nowitzki made three jump shots early in the game-deciding 16-4 run, then made two consecutive three-point shots.

Mehmet Okur scored 32 points and had 11 rebounds for Utah.

Chicago 95, Atlanta 90 -- Luol Deng scored 21 points, and the Bulls never trailed at Atlanta. Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago.

Al Harrington scored 32 points for the Hawks.

Orlando 103, Golden State 92 -- Hedo Turkoglu scored 21 points and tied his career high with 14 rebounds as the Magic beat the Warriors at Orlando, Fla.

Jason Richardson, who scored a career-high 44 points for the Warriors on Friday in a win at Miami, scored 11 points on four-for-14 shooting.

Charlotte 116, New York 109 -- Jumaine Jones scored 28 points to help the host Bobcats beat the Knicks in the battle to avoid the worst record in the NBA.

The victory moved Charlotte to 18-45, matching its win total from last year’s expansion season. New York fell to 17-44.