WASHINGTON, March 29 (Ticker) -- With two seconds left in the third quarter, Milwaukee guard Sam Cassell elected to punt. In his absence, the Washington Wizards continued to kick around the battered Bucks.

Michael Jordan continued his steady improvement from a knee injury with 34 points in 26 minutes and Richard Hamilton added 24 as the Wizards downed Milwaukee, 107-98.

"I felt the best I have since coming back," Jordan said. "Our starting five is setting a great tone and that puts me against the second five."

Cassell, whistled for traveling with his team down, 86-73, showed his frustration by taking two steps and punting the basketball into the scoreboard that hangs high above midcourt. The ball then ricocheted into the lower seating area.

NBA TV highlights from Bucks-Wizards: 56k | 300k Budget Fastbreak: 56k | 300k Michael Jordan combined to score his uniform number in the first and third quarters. Mitchell Layton NBAE/Getty Images

"That was my fifth foul, and I thought let me get ejected, maybe I give my team a spark or something. I guess it didn't happen," Cassell said.

Glenn Robinson joined his teammate in the locker room 2 1/2 minutes later when he argued his way into two quick technicals and an automatic ejection.

"Frustration comes in a lot of packages, and tonight we showed our frustration," Bucks coach George Karl said.

Washington (34-38) moved two games behind the Indiana Pacers for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot with 10 games remaining. Indiana is playing at Orlando on Friday.

The Bucks, who fell into a fourth-place tie in the East with Orlando and Philadelphia, played without Ray Allen and talented reserve Michael Redd, both sidelined with injuries.

Jordan went 12-of-22 from the field in his best effort since scoring 37 against Miami on February 23. Hamilton, playing with a tender groin, sank 10-of-18.

Wizards coach Doug Collins was asked about Hamilton playing hurt.

"I think the greatest example is the guy running next to him,"

Collins said. "Michael's playing on that knee at about 50 percent. When the other guys see him doing that they understand that at this stage of the year there are going to be aches and pains, but you have to play hard."

The Wizards broke open a tight game when Hamilton sank a jumper and a layup around a tip-in by teammate Brendan Haywood for a 67-58 advantage with 8:18 left in the third. The 6-0 burst spurred Washington on to an 87-73 lead after three.

Courtney Alexander scored 14 points for the Wizards, who shot 48 percent (43-of-89) from the field and held a 42-35 rebounding advantage.

"This is one of the best games that we have had collectively since the All-Star week," Alexander said.

The Bucks went on to trail by as many as 20 points while getting only as close as 12 in the final quarter.

Greg Anthony, signed on March 5 by the Bucks, scored 20 points and Anthony Mason added 16 and 10 rebounds as Milwaukee shot 47 percent (39-of-83) from the field -- 8-of-22 from 3-point range.

The Wizards enjoyed an advantage at the foul line, hitting 21-of-29 while the Bucks went 12-of-17.

Washington was able to build a 46-32 lead in the second quarter after Alexander's dunk with 6:56 left, but Milwaukee closed the period with a 20-9 run to move within 55-52.