Originally published January 6, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified January 6, 2008 at 5:03 PM

Butler scores 33 to lead Wizards over Sonics, 108-86

Caron Butler scored 31 points and Antawn Jamison added 21 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Washington Wizards to a 108-86 win over the Sonics on Sunday.

The Associated Press

Game stats

WASHINGTON -- Caron Butler scored 31 points and Antawn Jamison added 21 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Washington Wizards to a 108-86 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday.

It was Butler's third game of 30 or more points, and the second consecutive game the Wizards won by more than 20 -- the first time that's happened since December 2004.

Butler finished 12-of-21 from the field, hitting three 3-pointers and converting all six of his free throws. He had five assists and four rebounds.

Washington raced to a 31-17 first-quarter lead, while Seattle missed 10 of its first 13 shots in getting off to a sluggish start. Butler had 10 points for Washington in what looked to be a replay of Friday's first quarter in Milwaukee, when the Wizards led the Bucks 23-10 and coasted to a 24-point win.

Thanks to Wally Szczerbiak's 13 straight points off the bench for Seattle, the Sonics cut the Wizards' lead to 43-42. Seattle was still within 74-69 on Nick Collison's layup in the second half, but Washington went on an 18-2 run to take a 92-71 lead with 7:18 to play.

Antonio Daniels had 13 points and 10 assists for the Wizards.

It was a homecoming for two Sonics starters. Kevin Durant, a Washington native who was the second pick in June's NBA draft, had 19 points. Jeff Green, a Georgetown product from nearby Cheverly, Md., was just 4-for-13 from the field and finished with eight points.

Before the game, Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo fretted about both the game's early start (10 a.m. on the West Coast), possible jitters from his rookies, and most of all, the Sonics' opponent.

"The Wizards are going to be a much bigger problem than the time difference," he said.

Szczerbiak had 18 points and Collison had 12 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for Seattle.

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