"He really kind of took over," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said, then closed his postgame news conference with a smile and this statement: "All right, we've got a party to go to."
Arenas scored 13 points in the first quarter, 16 in the second on 7-for-8 shooting, then was 3-for-10 the rest of the way. He also had seven rebounds.
"We played a great game despite all the excitement surrounding the game tonight," the two-time All-Star said. "The win was the most important thing about tonight."
Not by the sound of the buzz around the Beltway.
Arenas turns 25 today, and after the game he took off for the invitation-only, black-tie, red-carpet bash hosted at a D.C. club by Sean "Diddy" Combs. Various Wizards boasted or joked about their well-planned outfits; forward Caron Butler promised he had three looks ready.
Butler had 27 points - his fifth consecutive game with at least 20. Elton Brand had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers.
In other games:
* At East Rutherford, N.J., Vince Carter (21 points) and Jason Kidd (17 points) combined to score 10 straight points down the stretch, and the Nets rallied to beat Chicago, 91-86.
* At Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 21 points and the Raptors handed Atlanta its eighth straight loss, 105-92.
* At Orlando, Dwight Howard had 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, leading the Magic to a 106-74 win over Charlotte.
* At Memphis, Wally Szczerbiak scored 26 points, Tony Allen added 20 and Boston beat the Grizzlies, 128-119.
* At San Antonio, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 36 points and Josh Howard added 18, leading Dallas to a 90-85 win over the Spurs.
* At Los Angeles, Smush Parker led five players in double figures with 23 points and the Lakers rolled to a 123-104 win over Denver, which got 16 points from Allen Iverson on 5-for-17 shooting.
* At Seattle, Stephon Marbury (28 points) and Eddy Curry (26) led the New York Knicks to a 111-93 win over the SuperSonics.
* At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored a season-high 44 points, Dikembe Mutombo grabbed a season-best 19 rebounds and the Rockets beat Utah, 100-86.
* At Phoenix, Steve Nash (22 points) and Amare Stoudemire (20) led the Suns to a 108-80 win over Miami.
* At Milwaukee, Drew Gooden scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, lifting Cleveland to a 95-86 victory over the Bucks. *
