Milwaukee ? After outscoring Vince Carter by a point in the first half, Richard Jefferson joked that maybe the two should swap paychecks.

“How is it I make less money than you and have more points right now?” Carter recalled Jefferson saying at halftime.

Instead, Carter went out and earned his money.

The All-Star guard scored 38 second-half points, including driving layups on back-to-back possessions in the final minute to rally the New Jersey Nets to an 89-85 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

Jason Kidd added his fourth triple-double of the season for the Nets, who snapped the Bucks’ six-game home winning streak and won in Milwaukee for the first time since 2000.

Cavaliers 105, Magic 92

Cleveland – LeBron James rebounded from a poor-shooting first half and finished with 26 points to lead the Cavaliers. James made six consecutive shots late until missing a meaningless attempt in the final seconds of Cleveland’s third straight victory.

Wizards 90, Timberwolves 78

Washington – Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points, and Caron Butler had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the Wizards’ eighth straight home victory.

The Timberwolves have lost eight of their last 10 games.

Pacers 97, Hornets 75

Indianapolis – Rookie Danny Granger scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Pacers to their sixth victory in seven games.

Rookie guard Chris Paul led the Hornets with 27 points and six assists.

Pistons 97, Hawks 87

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Richard Hamilton scored 24 points, and Chauncey Billups had 19 points and 15 assists to lead Detroit to its second straight victory.

Grizzlies 94, Raptors 88

Memphis, Tenn. – Eddie Jones, who had only two points until the final minute, connected on a three-pointer with 41.9 seconds left, then added two free throws as Memphis won its fourth straight.

Spurs 103, SuperSonics 78

San Antonio – Tony Parker scored 30 points, and Bruce Bowen hit five three-pointers to lead the Spurs in their first home game this month.

Mavericks 93, Clippers 91

Dallas – Dirk Nowitzki had three straight baskets and a steal in a little more than a minute, then made a game-saving block with 6.9 seconds to go.

Celtics 103, Jazz 83

Salt Lake City – Paul Pierce scored 30 points, and Delonte West added 22 to lead Boston.

Nuggets 100, Bobcats 84

Denver – Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points, and Greg Buckner had a season-high 19 points to lead the Nuggets. Missouri University product Linas Kleiza had a career-high 13 points for Denver.

Kings 102, Warriors 77

Sacramento, Calif. – The Kings built a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and kept adding on against the lethargic Warriors, who registered their lowest point total of the season.

Lakers 99, Trail Blazers 82

Los Angeles – Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 27 points in the final six minutes, and Lamar Odom had 20 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and six assists to help the Lakers.