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Butler scored seven of his career-high 39 points in overtime to offset the loss of All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas as the Wizards skinned the Charlotte Bobcats 114-111 on Wednesday night.

 "We dealt with the emotional strain of losing Gil for three months," Butler said. "We just got together and went out there and got a win."

   Earlier in the day, the Wizards received the bad news that Arenas and his team-best 22.4 scoring average, will be lost for approximately three months after undergoing left knee surgery.

 Antawn Jamison had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards (6-5), who won their sixth straight game following an 0-5 start.

 After Butler sank two free throws with 15.5 seconds left to put the Wizards ahead, 114-111, Gerald Wallace missed a potential game-tying three-pointer.

 With two seconds left and a chance to clinch the win, DeShawn Stevenson missed two free throws, giving the Bobcats a final shot to force a second overtime. However, Matt Carroll's desperation three-point try bounced off the side of the backboard at the buzzer.

 Raymond Felton led the Bobcats with 27 points and 12 assists. Wallace had 25 points while Emeka Okafor finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

 Elsewhere:

   Dallas Mavericks 100, Houston Rockets 94    Devin Harris scored a season-high 22 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 34 seconds left, and the Mavericks rallied from 17 down for their fifth consecutive win.

 The visiting Mavericks (8-2) also received 18 points and 14 rebounds from reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki.

 China's Yao Ming collected 30 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks for the Rockets (6-6), losers of four straight. Tracy McGrady returned from a right elbow sprain with 15 points and 12 assists.

 Boston Celtics 105, Golden State Warriors 82    Ray Allen scored 21 points while Kevin Garnett had 20 and 10 boards as the Celtics (9-1) snapped the Warriors' three-game winning streak.

 Monta Ellis led the visiting Warriors (3-7) with 21 points.

 San Antonio Spurs 128, Orlando Magic 110    Frenchman Tony Parker scored a season-high 32 points and the Spurs pulled away in the final frame to hand the Magic its first road loss of the season following a 7-0 start.

 Argentine Manu Ginobili had 27 points while Tim Duncan finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in the Spurs' (10-2) seventh win in the last eight games.

 Dwight Howard had 34 points and 16 rebounds while Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu added 26 points for Orlando (10-3) which had its overall five-game winning streak stopped.

 Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Minnesota Timberwolves 86    LeBron James erupted for 45 points, carrying the visiting Cavaliers over the struggling T-Wolves.

 Al Jefferson led the Timberwolves (1-8) with 30 points.

 Detroit Pistons 98, New York Knicks 86    Chauncey Billups recorded season-highs of 25 points and 15 assists as the host Pistons sent the Knicks to their NBA season-high eighth straight loss.

 Eddy Curry led the Knicks (2-9) with 26 points.

 Atlanta Hawks 82, Miami Heat 79    Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Josh Smith blocked Dwyane Wade's potential game-tying layup with 3.9 seconds left, helping the Hawks break an 18-game road slide, dating back to last season.

 Shaquille O'Neal led the Heat (2-9) with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.

 Milwaukee Bucks 110, LA Lakers 103    Michael Redd scored 26 points and the Bucks won their fourth in a row while ended the Lakers' three-game winning streak.

 Kobe Bryant led the visiting Lakers (7-4) with 27 points.

 Indiana Pacers 105, New Orleans Hornets 93    Troy Murphy tossed in 23 points and Danny Granger had 22, leading the Pacers to just their third win in the last 11 games.

 David West led the Hornets (9-4) with 23 points.

 Toronto Raptors 95, Mempis Grizzlies 89    Chris Bosh had 22 points along with 19 rebounds, and the Raptors tamed the host Grizzlies despite shooting just 39 per cent.

 Spaniard Pau Gasol and Mike Miller paced the Grizzlies (3-8) with 16 points and 10 rebounds apiece.

 New Jersey Nets 106, Sacramento Kings 101    Richard Jefferson scored 30 points while Jason Kidd posted his 90th career triple double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, helping the visiting Nets end a six-game slide.

 Brandon Roy had 25 points for the Blazers (4-8), losers of five straight.

 Phoenix Suns 127, Sacramento Kings 111    Shawn Marion scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in an NBA season high 47-point first-quarter, sparking the Suns to their seventh straight win.

 Steve Nash had 18 points and 15 assists for the Suns (102) who stretched a 47-38 lead after one to 80-63 by halftime.

 Francisco Garcia led the visiting Kings (3-7) with a career-high 31 points.

 LA Clippers 101, Denver Nuggets 90    Chris Kaman had 17 points and 21 rebounds, helping the injury-depleted Clippers snap the visiting Nuggets' six-game winning streak.

 Allen Iverson led the Nuggets with 29 points, Carmelo Anthony added 24 while Marcus Camby finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds.

By Paul Levine, dpa