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Arenas carries Wizards past lowly Bobcats

Dec 2, 2006 - 2:42 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards continue to give their home crowd something to cheer about.

Arenas had 33 points and 10 assists to lead five players in double figures as the Wizards notched a 121-109 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Washington (6-9) has struggled early this season after an impressive campaign last season, largely in part to an 0-7 showing on the road.

"We are going to keep going until we get the monkey off the back," Arenas said. "It has been weird season for us on the road and we are going to just keep chipping away at it until we get a win."

However, the Wizards are a sharp 6-2 at the Verizon Center, where Arenas has three 40-point games.

The Bobcats closed to 114-108 with 2:18 remaining on Gerald Wallace's layup that capped a 10-0 run. However, Arenas responded by scoring five of the Wizards' final seven points to put the game out of reach.

"He is confident with his shot," Washington swingman Caron Bulter said. "I keep telling him to take the first shot. He is playing with a lot of confidence and doing a great job."

In the third quarter, the Wizards used a 12-2 surge capped by Arenas' 16-footer for an 86-74 bulge with 4:31 left. Two minutes later, the two-time All-Star left after complaining of stomach problems before returning in the final period.

"We got it going (in the third quarter)," Arenas said. "We had 63 points at halftime. We did pretty good. Everybody was sharing the ball and everyone was making shots. We feel good about ourselves."

Butler scored 24 points and Antawn Jamison added 22 and eight rebounds for Washington, which shot 54 percent (46-of-84) from the floor and forced 20 turnovers.

"We were forceful enough to rattle them and force some turnovers which created some scoring opportunities for us," Jamison said. "We took advantage of it and made some smart decisions and did enough just to pull away."

Rookie Adam Morrison scored 23 points and Brevin Knight chipped in 22 and nine assists for the Bobcats, who shot 52 percent (42-of-80) but lost for the fourth time in five games.

Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff was upset his club's sloppiness.

"They had 33 points off of our turnovers," Bickerstaff said. "They aren't the type of team that puts a lot of pressure on you, so our turnovers were not of commission, but they were of omission."

Newly acquired Derek Anderson, who signed with Charlotte earlier this week, scored 10 points off the bench in his season debut.