DALLAS – Michael Finley opened the third quarter with a dunk and closed it with a swish from behind the halfcourt stripe, perfect bookends for a 46-point period that the Dallas Mavericks rode to a 115-91 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.

Finley shot 10-of-14, including 5-of-7 on 3-pointers, for 30 points. Dirk Nowitzki added 23, helping the Mavs win their fourth straight and improve their league-best home record to 26-4.

The Spurs endured their biggest blowout loss of the season and lost two-time MVP Tim Duncan for most of the second half because of a bruised thigh.

Wizards 95, Bulls 87

WASHINGTON – One night after staging a mini-mutiny on offense, Gilbert Arenas had his second career triple-double Thursday to lead the Washington Wizards to a 95-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Arenas set aside five days of drama to score 21 points, grab 12 rebounds and hand out 13 assists as the Wizards completed rare back-to-back victories. Arenas’ first triple-double came earlier this season, a 25-12-10 effort against Dallas on Nov. 5.

On Wednesday, Arenas didn’t attempt a shot until 5:30 remained in a two-point victory at Toronto – and that was only after coach Eddie Jordan threatened to bench him. Arenas has been smarting from comments made Sunday by teammate Kwame Brown, who accused an unnamed teammate of being too selfish with the ball. Arenas responded by criticizing Brown’s play.

Arenas’ 12 rebounds matched a career-high, while the 13 assists were a season-high.

Kirk Hinrich scored 23 for the Bulls.

, who lost their fourth straight.

Chicago’s entire scoring output in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter consisted of a 3-pointer (Hinrich), a 2-pointer (Eddie Robinson) and a 1-pointer (free throw by Eddy Curry).

Arenas appeared in passive mode again at the start of the game when he grabbed a rebound and passed up a fast-break opportunity on the Wizards’ first possession, but then he got the ball back and took his first shot – a 3-pointer from the left baseline that missed. He didn’t score until making a jump shot in the second quarter, and he wowed the crowd with a one-handed flying dunk late in the half.

Arenas hit a pair of 3-pointers that helped the Wizards make up an 11-point deficit in the third quarter. An acrobatic layup gave his team its first lead of the second half, 67-65 late in the quarter, and Washington never trailed again.

The Bulls missed their first nine shots of the game and trailed 12-0 before Antonio Davis made a hook shot with 7:06 remaining in the first quarter. The Wizards led 18-4 before the matching the Bulls with a drought of their own, keeping the game close for much of the first half.

Hinrich’s 3-pointer completed a 9-0 run to open the second half, putting Chicago ahead by 11, but the Bulls were outscored 48-29 the rest of the game.

Notes: Before the game, Arenas had varying explanations for his passive play against Toronto. Among his best answers was another shot at Brown: “You have a complaint, you’ve got to deal with it – until you hear more complaints. Then you’ve got to deal with those.” … Halftime adjustment from the refs: The fouls went 13-4 against the Wizards in the first half, then 9-1 against the Bulls in the third quarter. … Bulls forward Jerome Williams strained a tendon in his left knee in the first quarter and did not return. … The Bulls activated Kendall Gill and placed Chris Jeffries on the injured list with lower back pain. Gill had been on the injured list since Jan. 25 with a strained right Achilles’ tendon. Gill played 26 minutes and scored 15 points. … Washington’s 10 first-quarter assists were a season-high for a quarter.

AP-ES-02-26-04 2129EST