By The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. – Gilbert Arenas scored 31 points and Larry Hughes added 30 for the Washington Wizards, who withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to beat the Orlando Magic 111-102 Friday night.

The Wizards led by 24 points to start the final period, but Orlando got as close as 97-92 with four minutes to play before Washington regained control.

Rookie Dwight Howard led the Magic with 22 points, 12 of them in the final period. Steve Francis added 21 points and 10 rebounds and DeShawn Stevenson had 19 points.

The Wizards led 93-69 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Magic scored the first 10 points of the period and eventually outscored the Wizards 23-4. Stevenson scored the last seven points in the rally, finishing it with a fast-break layup that made it 97-92 with 4:01 left.

Arenas responded with a floater in the lane and followed that with a 3-pointer. Etan Thomas added a pair of free throws that made it 104-92 with 2:35 left.

Mavericks 100, 76ers 83

PHILADELPHIA – Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points, going 14-for-14 from the foul line, and former Philadelphia player Keith Van Horn added 15 points to help the Dallas Mavericks rout the 76ers 100-83 on Friday night.

The Mavericks won their fourth straight game to improve to 7-1 since Avery Johnson replaced Don Nelson as head coach on March 19.

Allen Iverson scored 22 points for the 76ers before sitting out the fourth quarter because of a strained groin. Marc Jackson also had 22 points for Philadelphia.

The 76ers, who have lost three straight, played without Chris Webber for the second time since acquiring him from Sacramento in February. Webber is expected to miss at least two more games after spraining his left shoulder against Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Raptors 119, Bobcats 107

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chris Bosh scored 27 points and Jalen Rose had 23 to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 119-107 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

Donyell Marshall added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Rafer Alston also had 18 points for the Raptors, who ended a two-game losing streak two days after Rose questioned his teammates’ character and commitment following a loss to Orlando.

Toronto, on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, had only six turnovers after committing 23 in the loss to the Magic.

Pistons 97, Clippers 84

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons clinched a playoff spot with a 97-84 victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers in Larry Brown’s return Friday night.

Brown was back on the bench after missing 10 games because of complications from surgery in early March related to his hip surgery in November. Detroit went 6-4 with Gar Heard directing the team in place of Brown. Los Angeles finished the game with only seven healthy players. Corey Maggette, Quinton Ross and Chris Kaman missed the game with back injuries and Bobby Simmons was out with a leg problem. Former Piston Zeljko Rebraca left the game late in the first half with a sprained right wrist and did not return.

Nets 93, Knicks 91

NEW YORK – Vince Carter scored 31 points and the New Jersey Nets moved within a half-game of eighth place in the Eastern Conference – the cutoff for a postseason berth – with a 93-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Winning for the eighth time in 10 games, New Jersey passed Orlando in the conference standings and moved a game closer to Philadelphia as both the Magic and 76ers lost. Those final scores were posted on the out-of-town scoreboard by the time this game entered the fourth quarter, and the Nets were fully aware of the opportunity in front of them.

Carter reached 30 points for the 19th time in 48 games with New Jersey, Jason Kidd added 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Clifford Robinson had 12 points.

Kings 128, Cavaliers 109

CLEVELAND – Peja Stojakovic, Cuttino Mobley and Mike Bibby each scored 22 points and the Sacramento Kings held off a late Cleveland run, beating the Cavaliers 128-109 Friday night.

The Kings set a season high in points and beat the Cavaliers for the ninth straight time.

Sacramento scored 104 points through three quarters and took advantage of a Cavaliers team that seemed tired and out of synch while playing its second set of back-to-back games in five days.

The sellout crowd booed as the Kings made eight straight shots to open a 31-point lead with 6:18 left in the third quarter.

Grizzlies 93, Bucks 82

MILWAUKEE – Pau Gasol scored 20 points to help the Memphis Grizzlies snap a three-game losing streak with a 93-82 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night.

With the victory, Memphis moved into seventh place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of Denver, which faced San Antonio at home Friday night.

Milwaukee has lost eight straight, the last three at home.

Shane Battier added 18 points for Memphis, which outscored Milwaukee 17-6 to end the game. Desmond Mason, returning after missing a game with a contusion on his right leg, led the Bucks with 24 points. Michael Redd added 17, but failed to score in the fourth quarter.

Suns 107, Wolves 98

PHOENIX – Steve Nash scored 12 of his 28 points in the last 9 minutes and the Phoenix Suns snapped Minnesota’s five-game winning streak with a 107-98 victory Friday night, delivering a blow to the Timberwolves’ last-ditch attempt to make the playoffs.

Amare Stoudemire, back after missing two games because of inflammation in his left ankle, added 22 points and nine rebounds in the Suns’ fourth consecutive victory, boosting their NBA-best record to 55-17.

Nash had 11 assists, the last two on a 3-pointer by Joe Johnson as the shot clock expired with 1:50 left and a lob for a fast-break stuff by Shawn Marion on a three-point play that made it 106-95 with 1:30 to play.

Hornets 76, Rockets 73

HOUSTON – Lee Nailon came off the bench to score 16 points and fellow reserve Dan Dickau added 14, helping the New Orleans Hornets rally from an 18-point second-half deficit for a 76-73 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

P.J. Brown scored 13 points and Chris Andersen had 16 rebounds and nine points to lead an improbable fourth-quarter comeback by the Hornets’ reserves, who feasted under the basket against an undersized Houston team that was missing center Yao Ming.

Ming sat out with a sore right calf, only the second time he’s missed a game in his three-year career.