Arenas Starts Early to Spark Wizards

WASHINGTON - Gilbert Arenas got the party started early. Arenas scored 29 of his 35 points in the first half and added a season-high 12 assists Friday night, leading the Washington Wizards past the Los Angeles Clippers 116-105 and drawing "M-V-P!" chants from the sellout crowd.

Then he headed to his star-studded birthday celebration.

Arenas scored 13 points in the first quarter, 16 in the second on 7-for-8 shooting, but was only 3-for-10 the rest of the way. He also had seven rebounds as the Wizards won for the seventh time in eight games.

Caron Butler had 27 points - his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 - six assists and five rebounds for Washington, which is 13-3 at home. Antawn Jamison added 19 points, and Brendan Haywood contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds to help the Wizards put up the highest offensive total allowed by Los Angeles this season.

Elton Brand had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, now 3-12 on the road. Chris Kaman added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Arenas turns 25 on Saturday, and after the game he was going to a D.C. club for an invitation-only birthday party hosted by Sean "Diddy" Combs. The black-tie, red-carpet fete was the talk of the locker room and the town the past few days.

In the first quarter, the above-court scoreboard flashed a "Happy Birthday Gilbert!" graphic, drawing a loud ovation from many of the 20,173 in the stands. Someone handed Arenas an oversized birthday card as he left the court after the game.

When he stepped to the foul line to complete a three-point play with 0.7 seconds left in the first half, he kept a straight face while fans yelled "M-V-P!"

Arenas provided the latest in a series of superb performances. There were his 60- and 54-point games last month, and his previous outing, when he capped a full stat night (32 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists) with a tiebreaking, buzzer-beating 3-pointer. As that shot went through the net to beat the Bucks on Wednesday, Arenas turned his back to the basket with a sneer and walked away.

This time, he topped 30 with a jumper a little more than a minute into the second half; he's now hit that mark 17 times this season, and Washington is 16-1 in those games. The Southeast Division leader is 3-12 when Arenas is held below 30.

After allowing 39 points in the first quarter, a season high for the Clippers in any period, the Wizards tightened up. They forced seven turnovers while committing none in the second period and limited the Clippers to 5-for-17 shooting (29 percent) while taking a 66-57 halftime lead.

Los Angeles was up 44-31 about 1 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. But Washington scored the next 12 points as part of a 19-4 run to take a 50-48 lead.

Brand had 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting in the first quarter, and Tim Thomas scored eight points in the last 1:36 of that period as Los Angeles outrebounded Washington 18-5 in the period and took a 39-29 lead.

Notes:@ Including his layup to end the first half, Arenas has made nine shots this season with 3 or fewer seconds remaining in a quarter. ... Clippers G Cuttino Mobley returned after missing a game with a left elbow injury. He shot 1-for-8. ... The Clippers had won three in a row against the Wizards. ... Clippers G Sam Cassell missed his seventh consecutive game with a left heel injury.