PLAY OF THE DAY

SHOOTING STUDS

Gilbert Arenas, Wizards
110-89 win vs. Knicks
46 pts, 13-16 FG,
7-10 3-pt. FG, 13-14 FT

Shaquille O'Neal, Heat
115-106 win vs. Sonics
31 pts, 15-16 FG

Jumaine Jones, Bobcats
136-121 loss at Suns
22 pts, 8-12 FG, 5-7 3-pt FG

SHOOTING DUDS

James Jones, Suns
136-121 win vs. Bobcats
0-9 FG, 0-3 3-pt FG, 4 pts

Mickael Pietrus, Warriors
92-75 loss at Spurs
2-12 FG, 5 pts

Tim Duncan, Spurs
92-75 win vs. Warriors
4-17 FG, 9 pts

STAT SHEET STUFFER

Shawn Marion turned in an impressive encore to his 44 points in Wednesday's win over Boston. He grabbed a career-high 24 boards and netted 31 points in a wild 136-121 win over Charlotte on Saturday, becoming the first Phoenix player to reach the 30-point, 20-rebound plateau since Charles Barkley collected 34 and 26 against Houston on March 24, 1995. The Matrix also tallied three assists, two blocks and a steal for good measure.

RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE

"It's time to get back out there and pick up Jumaine Jones, who had 22 points and five threes against the Suns. With Melvin Ely on the blink, Jones is back in the starting lineup, despite the healthy return of Gerald Wallace."

D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT

Mateen Cleaves played 27 games with the Sonics this season and the Fayetteville point guard showed why he has spent part of six seasons in the NBA on Saturday. He poured in 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting from the floor and added nine assists and six rebounds in a 135-123 loss to Arkansas.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

A 24-point deficit midway through the third quarter and the absence of starting forward Josh Howard appeared to signal the end of the Mavericks' 13-game home winning streak Saturday. However, Dallas made an impressive statement by staging the second-biggest comeback in franchise history, rallying for an improbable 115-113 win in overtime. The victory was the Mavs' 18th in 19 games overall and improved their home record in 2006 to 14-0. Toronto had a chance to win it as time expired, but Dirk Nowitzki got a piece of Mike James' driving attempt to force OT. With the clock winding down in overtime, Nowitzki calmly sank an 18-foot fadeaway jumper, his seventh and eighth points of overtime to give Dallas its Western Conference-leading 44th victory. The biggest comeback in team history was from 25 points down against Denver on Nov. 12, 1994.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

"I thought I played great the first half of the season. If not, I'm going to prove it now in the second half of the season. I'm the Eastern Conference assassin right now. It's a tour, from city to city. I just hope they all have a good game plan."

-- Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas, after scoring 47 points in a 110-89 victory over the Knicks.

STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT

1. Gilbert the Great
Considering the Wizards had won eight straight games at home and the Knicks had lost 10 in a row on the road, the outcome of their meeting Saturday in Washington is not much of a surprise. But it would have been hard to predict the sizzling start Washington guard Gilbert Arenas got off to. The league's fourth leading scorer exploded for 23 first-quarter points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Washington coasted to a 110-89 victory over Steve Francis and New York for the franchise's longest home winning streak since the Bullets won 15 straight in 1989. Arenas rolled into the half with 33 points and finished one shy of his career high with 46 points on 13-of-16 shooting before sitting down for good late in the third. It was the eighth 40-point game on the season for the All-Star and he missed Michael Jordan's franchise record for both points in a quarter and half by one. "I just wanted to be aggressive by any means necessary," Arenas said. "Just keep attacking, attacking, attacking. I was on fire tonight. It was just one of those nights when I was feeling it and I was in the zone."

2. A.I.'s to the Rescue
The Sixers were looking for their third straight victory for the first time in over a month Saturday, but the odds were against them. They were playing without starters Chris Webber (flu) and Samuel Dalembert (sprained left ankle) and against a Chicago team that is trying to catch the Sixers in the playoff chase and handed them a 117-84 loss right before the All-Star break. Despite a starting lineup that featured Steven Hunter, Kevin Ollie and Michael Bradley, Philadelphia was led by Allen Iverson and Andre Iguodala in a 108-102 win. Iverson scored a game-high 38 and the other A.I. added 20 points. Philadelphia also received strong play from the bench as Kyle Korver scored 19 and rookie Shavlik Randolph pulled down 13 boards. "It's big for us because we know the other teams are right around us for the playoffs," Iverson said. "(But) we are not approaching games like that. We are just trying to win the game. We don't feel like we need to settle for the eighth or seventh seed, we feel like we can get as high as we want to."

3. Saturday Scoring Spree
When it comes to scoring, the Suns are in a class of their own at a league-best 107 a night and the Bobcats are in the league's bottom third. However, Charlotte nearly beat Phoenix at its own game on Saturday night. The Bobcats were hot early and led 74-68 at the half before coming up on the short end in a 136-121 Suns win. It was the highest scoring regulation game of the season and the sixth straight win for surging Phoenix. There was no shortage of offensive stars as Shawn Marion put on a show for the Suns with 31 points and 24 boards, while teammates Steve Nash, Raja Bell and Boris Diaw combined for 76 points.

COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE

David West returned to the Hornets' lineup Saturday after a two-game absence and it is not coincidental that the team returned to its winning ways. New Orleans/Oklahoma City had won nine of 10 before losing two while West missed time to be with his wife and newborn baby. In his return, he scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 100-95 win at Utah. He was clutch down the stretch as well, putting the Hornets up 95-93 on a dunk with 1:12 to go.

ROOKIE WATCH

Raymond Felton has put together an up-and-down campaign with the Bobcats, but he reached the peak in Saturday's duel with reigning MVP Steve Nash. The No. 5 pick in the draft scored a season-high 31 on 13-of-21 shooting from the floor in a 136-121 loss at Phoenix. The point guard is running right through the rookie wall, reaching double figures in nine of his last 10 games.

SIXTH MAN OF THE NIGHT

Linton Johnson wasted no time making a name for himself on his latest stop. Johnson, dealt by New Jersey to the Hornets along with Marc Jackson for Bostjan Nachbar on Thursday, posted a double-double with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 100-95 win at Utah. Johnson, who scored just 11 total points in nine appearances with the Nets this season, was 7-of-8 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from behind the arc.