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Final Score: Boston 95 - Washington 109

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Antawn Jamison returned from a two-game absence due to a shoulder injury to score 27 points and grab 11 rebounds, as the Washington Wizards pulled away from the Boston Celtics in the third quarter for a 109-95 win at the Verizon Center.

Caron Butler added 13 points, 10 assists and seven boards for the Wizards, who won their third straight. DeShawn Stevenson contributed 14 points, while Gilbert Arenas scored 13. Jamison, who was out with a sprained right shoulder, shot 8-of-17 from the field and 8-of-11 from the foul line.

With the win, the Wizards maintained their one-game lead over Philadelphia for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers kept pace with a 101-94 win over Detroit on Wednesday.

"I thought we played well for 48 minutes," said Wizards coach Eddie Jordan. "We withstood a couple of their runs and we were able to stage a few runs of our own. It was one of those proud, manly games."

Paul Pierce had 28 points and seven assists for the Celtics, who saw their seven-game win streak come to an end. Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and pulled down 14 boards in the loss, while Ray Allen finished with 13 points as the only other Celtic to reach double-figures.

Trailing by two at the half, the Celtics took a 58-57 lead early in the third, but Brendan Haywood responded with a jumper to set off a 10-0 spurt, finished off by Jamison's slam that opened up a nine-point gap.

Washington continued to pull away, taking an 82-67 lead on a jumper from Antonio Daniels in the final two minutes of the quarter, and the Wizards headed to the final frame with an 82-71 advantage.

Back-to-back threes from Eddie House and Pierce pulled the Celtics within 91-85 just over four minutes into the final stanza, but Darius Songaila nailed a jumper and Roger Mason drilled a three to restore the 11-point margin.

The teams continued to trade baskets for the next several minutes, with Boston pulling within six points when Pierce drained a three with 2:27 to play to make it a 101-95 game.

But, the Celtics couldn't break the six-point barrier, and the Wizards scored the game's final eight points to lock up the win.

"We didn't play with much intensity, but honestly, I understand that," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "This is the game I wanted to use minutes with the starters and I will probably do it one more time. After that, we are just getting ready for the playoffs."

Pierce scored 14 points in the opening quarter, but the Wizards countered with 57.1 percent shooting and led 30-25 after 12 minutes.

"We did exactly what we wanted to do," Daniels said. "We wanted to get out of the gate and bring some energy to the game, get the crowd involved and then go from there."

Washington came out firing in the second quarter, opening the frame on a 14-2 run to open a 17-point margin. The Celtics roared right back, scoring 24 of the next 30 points.

The burst was finished with a 13-0 run, capped off when Allen nailed a three to give Boston a 51-50 lead in the final minutes of the half. However, the Wizards pulled in front and took a 55-53 lead heading into intermission.