Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom (right) goes up for a lay-up against Toronto Raptors centre Rasho Nesterovic of Slovenia, during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday night. Lakers won 117-108. - AP

WASHINGTON (AP)

Antawn Jamison scored 23 points, rookie Nick Young had a career-high 22, and the Washington Wizards rallied in the fourth quarter Tuesday night for a 105-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The victory moved Washington, eager to hold onto sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 11/2 games ahead of charging Philadelphia.

Michael Redd scored 26 points, Andrew Bogut had 23, and Charlie Villanueva had 24 points and matched a season-high with 16 rebounds for the Bucks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games with another lacklustre defensive performance.

At Chicago, Drew Gooden tied a season-high with 24 points, Ben Gordon added 19, and Chicago snapped Utah's five-game winning streak in their 108-96 win over the Jazz.

Gordon hit several key three-pointers, including two late in the third and one midway through the fourth after the Jazz pulled within 10. That was enough to offset strong performances by Utah's Mehmet Okur (22 points, 18 rebounds) and Deron Williams (20 points, 10 assists).

Career-best

At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 30 minutes, and Phoenix beat Memphis 132-111 for the eighth time in a row.

Raja Bell added 20 points, including 18 in the third quarter, for the Suns, who shot 60 per cent, led by as many as 32 in the first half and 39 in the second and won consecutive games for the first time since Shaquille O'Neal joined the line-up 11 games ago.

Rudy Gay, who scored a career-best 36 when the teams met in Memphis on February 26, led the Grizzlies with 20.

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 34 points in the final 8 1/2 minutes, Lamar Odom added 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Toronto 117-108 to regain the top spot in the Western Conference.

Bryant also had seven rebounds and seven assists for the Pacific Division-leading Lakers (45-19), who have won 18 of their last 22 and lead San Antonio by a half-game.

T.J. Ford scored all but four of his 28 points in the second half for the Raptors.