CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gerald Wallace scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Washington Wizards 100-82 for their first victory over their Southeast Division rivals.

Gilbert Arenas, the NBA’s third-leading scorer who had 39 points against the Pistons, had two points in the second half and finished with 11. He was scoreless in the third quarter, when the Bobcats took control and opened an 11-point lead.

Emeka Okafor also had a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds for Charlotte.

Antawn Jamison had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Washington.

The Bobcats used a 9-0 run in the third quarter to take a 69-58 lead with about a minute left in the third quarter. The Wizards closed with eight at the end of the period, but Charlotte quickly regained a double-figure lead in the fourth.

Charlotte led by 13 points with 6:11 to go in the first half, but the Wizards closed to 45-41 at the half.

Arenas had five points in the 15-6 run to close out the second quarter for Washington. Gerald Wallace had 18 for Charlotte in the first half.

Notes: The Bobcats played without rookie forward Sean May, who was inactive because of a sore right knee. His status is day to day. … Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff is frustrated by speculation in New York that the Knicks are interested in acquiring Charlotte point guard Brevin Knight. Coach Larry Brown had praised Knight following the Bobcats’ 108-95 victory over the Knicks on Wednesday. “If I don’t know anything about it, they haven’t approached me,” Bickerstaff said before Saturday’s game. “But I know the Knicks are very good at putting things out there. I think it’s kind of inappropriate that Brevin has to be the guy that everybody approaches about this, something that has not transpired and didn’t have any conversations about it. I think it has something to do with his focus.”

AP-ES-11-26-05 2215EST


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