NBA roundup: Stephen Jackson leads Bobcats over Cavaliers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stephen Jackson scored 29 points and the Charlotte Bobcats took advantage of Antawn Jamison's miserable debut for Cleveland in a 110-93 victory Friday night to send the NBA-best Cavaliers to their second straight loss.

Two days after being acquired from Washington in a key trade, Jamison came off the bench and promptly went 0 for 12 from the field. He was blocked five times and tossed up two airballs, while looking out of sync with his new teammates.

The Bobcats used a big run to end the third quarter to beat the Cavaliers for a third straight time and take the series 3-1 in a possible first-round playoff preview.

LeBron James had 22 points and nine assists for Cleveland a night after being the first player in NBA history with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks.

WIZARDS 107, NUGGETS 97: At Washington, Al Thornton scored 21 points in his Washington debut and Josh Howard added 20 to lead the Wizards. Thornton, acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Antawn Jamison deal Wednesday, and Howard, starting for the first time since being acquired on Feb. 13 from Dallas, spearheaded a spirited fourth-quarter rally. Howard had nine points in the period as Washington erased an 82-73 deficit. The Nuggets, who won a thrilling overtime game in Cleveland on Thursday night, seemed to have the game in hand until coach George Karl decided to rest Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to start the fourth. By the time both came back in, the Wizards had a 95-93 lead, thanks to Howard's jumper with 5:57 remaining.

RAPTORS 106, NETS 89: At East Rutherford, N.J., Rasho Nesterovic scored a season-high 16 points replacing a sidelined Chris Bosh and Toronto dropped the Nets to 5-50. Jarrett Jack added 18 points and Jose Calderon had 16 points as the Raptors had seven players in double figures. DeMar DeRozan and Hedo Turkoglu added 14 points apiece as Toronto shot nearly 60 percent from the field in extending its franchise record for consecutive 100-point games to 19. Brook Lopez had 22 points and Devin Harris 19 and 11 assists for New Jersey. Courtney Lee added 17 points in a game the Nets fell behind early and never caught up.

MAVERICKS 95, MAGIC 85: At Orlando, Fla., Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points and Dallas rode a surprisingly strong defensive effort to beat Orlando. Caron Butler and Jason Terry had 16 points apiece and Brendan Haywood added 15 points and nine rebounds as the Mavs won for the second time in three games since acquiring Butler and Haywood from Washington. Dwight Howard had 29 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks for Orlando.