Washington Wizards Larry Hughes, who missed Monday's 94-83 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers with tendinitis in his right knee, is expected back for tonight's home game against the Orlando Magic.

"It's making progress," said Hughes, who went through only shooting drills at practice yesterday. "Getting rest is what I needed. I didn't practice the day before [Monday's game] so, I've got almost a half-day tomorrow to let it calm down and get some treatment on it. The doctor said basically all it needs is to calm down, get the inflammation out and it will be as good as new."

Jared Jefferies is also expected to play, he's been bothered by a sore right ankle.

"Washington Wizards forward Jared Jeffries (sprained right ankle) and guard Larry Hughes (right knee tendinitis) sat out of practice yesterday with injuries that could either sideline or limit them in tonight's game against the Portland Trail Blazers at MCI Center."

Head coach Eddie Jordan says that Jefferies is more doubtful to play tonight than Hughes.

"President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld said the Wizards would decide today whether to sign burly forward Torraye Braggs to a second 10-day contract."

WASHINGTON (AP) Who is that wearing the No. 5 jersey for the Washington Wizards?

You know, the big man? The one moving so confidently through the lane, grabbing rebounds, dunking over defenders?

Can that really be Kwame Brown? For so long, he seemed destined to be one of the biggest busts in NBA history, a No. 1 overall draft pick who never panned out.

Maybe it's too early for a coming-out party, but suddenly Brown's got game. He scored his career high twice this month, including 25 points with nine rebounds in the Washington Wizards' 107-96 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

``I'm a lot more comfortable,'' Brown said. ``Not as jittery. Taking my shots when I have it.''

Over his past 12 games, Brown is averaging 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds and has worked his way back into the starting lineup. He has led his team in scoring four times this season.

And the Wizards, parked near the bottom of the standings all season, have won three of four games.

Perhaps he isn't quite putting up All-Star numbers yet, but consider this: Brown led the Wizards in scoring a grand total of just once in his first two seasons _ it happened to be Michael Jordan's final game _ and he mostly languished on the bench while averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.

Why the sudden turnaround for the first player to go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft straight out of high school? There are a variety of reasons:

_Brown is hanging around the low post. He's been playing center when the Wizards go to a smaller lineup, but he's also staying in the paint more when at power forward.

``I love it. It has a lot to do with it,'' Brown said. ``On the wing, I'm not a consistent shooter _ 15, 20 feet away from the basket. The more comfortable I feel in the paint, the better team we are.''

_Coach Eddie Jordan is giving Brown a chance. Michael Jordan and former coach Doug Collins often got fed up with Brown's teenage mind-set and would banish him to the bench for long stretches. Collins later admitted he didn't do a good job of handling such a young player. Brown's telling admission that he's ``not as jittery'' says it all.

``I'm not afraid to make mistakes,'' Brown said. ``I can make a mistake, and Coach will allow me to make up for it with my play. I won't find myself on the bench as a result.''

_The Wizards are having to make do without injured guards Jerry Stackhouse and Gilbert Arenas, the two players they thought would lead them this season. Someone has to fill the void.

``We don't have that one superstar,'' Brown said. ``With Jerry out and Gilbert out, those are the guys who can put up big numbers.''

_Brown is growing up. He'll be 22 in March and has adjusted to the NBA lifestyle. This is his third season, the year players drafted straight from high school often make the big jump. Brown's early struggles were magnified more than others' because he was the first taken at No. 1.

Brown realizes such comparisons are made, so it's probably no coincidence that he gets fired up to play Indiana. The Pacers feature two players who also skipped college _ Jermaine O'Neal and Al Harrington _ and Brown got the best in his matchup with O'Neal.

``You want to play as hard as you can against players like him, because that can make your career,'' Brown said. ``You play hard against him, the league talks, the refs talk. That's how you get their respect.''

Brown's game is far from complete. He gets a rap for having bad hands, although notably he had no turnovers Saturday. His defensive discipline, a major complaint under Collins, is improving.

And he's nowhere close to being an absolute go-to, take-over-the-game player, someone who can be counted on to lift a team when it's slumping. He plays well when the players around him play well, and his 0-for-2 game with three points against Boston on Friday showed that teams can shut him down if they pay enough attention inside.

``Let's see some consistency,'' Eddie Jordan said after the victory over Indiana. ``We're not going to gloat. We love what happened tonight. We're not going to say he's arrived, because it's all about consistency.''

Joe Dumars was a key player on the Detroit Pistons team that won a franchise-record 13 straight games 14 seasons ago. He saw it done again from a different perspective this time.

``This has been a great run and these guys deserve it,'' said Dumars, now the Pistons' president of basketball operations. ``I'm very proud of the coaching staff and the players for giving such an incredible effort.''

Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 18 points in the final 3:17 on Monday to lift Detroit to an 85-77 win over the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, tying the franchise record set by Dumars and the rest of ``The Bad Boys'' during their 1989-90 championship season.

And how about this juicy story line: Detroit will have a chance to break the record Tuesday on the road against the Central Division-leading Indiana Pacers, led by its former coach, Rick Carlisle.

``We tied the streak and now we want to break it,'' Chucky Atkins said. ``We are going up against our old coach for the No. 14.''

In other games, it was Phoenix 88, the Los Angeles Lakers 85; Washington 93, Chicago 83; New York 90, Toronto 79; Indiana 100, Atlanta 97; Seattle 90, Philadelphia 81; Orlando 106, Milwaukee 99; Sacramento 125, the Los Angeles Clippers 100; Minnesota 97, New Orleans 90; Memphis 88, Houston 83; and Golden State 101, Utah 85.

Pistons coach Larry Brown hadn't won 13 straight in his Hall of Fame career until Monday. The Pistons haven't lost since New Jersey beat them at home on Dec. 26.

Billups tied it at 72 with a 3-pointer with 3:17 left, and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:28 remaining. His three-point play put the Pistons up 81-77 with 48.6 seconds to go. Billups then made all four of his free throw attempts to seal the win during Detroit's game-ending 12-0 run.

``If I get a look late in the game, I just feel like I'm going to make it,'' said Billups, who didn't miss a shot as he scored the game's final 10 points. ``I don't know what it is in me.''

Tim Duncan had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, but the two-time league MVP didn't come through when they needed him most.

Duncan missed two free throws when San Antonio was ahead 77-75 with 1:47 left, and his shot was blocked by Ben Wallace on its next possession.

Suns 88, Lakers 85

At Los Angeles, Joe Johnson scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Jake Voskuhl made two key follow shots down the stretch as Phoenix beat the injury-depleted Lakers.

Voskuhl had season-high totals of 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns.

Kareem Rush led the Lakers with 18 points, and Bryon Russell added a season-high 17. Los Angeles played without Shaquille O'Neal (strained right calf), Kobe Bryant (sprained right shoulder) and Karl Malone (sprained knee ligament). The Suns went without Amare Stoudemire (ankle).

Wizards 93, Bulls 83

At Washington, the Wizards won consecutive games for the first time in two months. Since beating Atlanta on Nov. 17 and Cleveland two days later, Washington had gone 5-22 before Saturday's 99-84 win over Seattle.

Larry Hughes had 25 points to lead the Wizards. Jamal Crawford had 19 for the Bulls.

Knicks 90, Raptors 79

At New York, Stephon Marbury had 28 points and 14 assists to keep coach Lenny Wilkens undefeated in his new job.

The Knicks improved to 3-0 under Wilkens by defeating the team he coached the past three seasons. Marbury scored 13 in the third quarter, when the Knicks took the lead for good, then added 11 more in the fourth.

Pacers 100, Hawks 97

At Atlanta, Reggie Miller hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and added two free throws in the final minute to lead the Pacers to their fourth straight win.

Jermaine O'Neal had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana. Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 32 points for the Hawks.

SuperSonics 90, 76ers 81

At Philadelphia, Ray Allen scored 28 points to help the SuperSonics end a four-game losing streak.

Glenn Robinson scored 27 points for Philadelphia, which lost its third straight.

Magic 106, Bucks 99

At Orlando, Tracy McGrady scored 34 points to pace the Magic. Joe Smith led Milwaukee with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Kings 125, Clippers 100

At Los Angeles, Peja Stojakovic scored 31 points to help the Kings win their fifth straight and ninth in 10 games.

Elton Brand had 24 points and six rebounds for the Clippers.

Timberwolves 97, Hornets 90

At Minneapolis, Sam Cassell had 22 points to help the Timberwolves win their ninth straight at home.

Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 29 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Baron Davis had 25 points for the Hornets before mildly spraining his left ankle midway through the fourth quarter.

Grizzlies 88, Rockets 83

At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and James Posey scored 13 of his 17 points to lead the Grizzlies to their fifth straight win.

Steve Francis had 23 points for Houston.

Warriors 101, Jazz 85

At Oakland, Calif., Erick Dampier had his 20th double-double with 18 points and a career-high 24 rebounds, and Golden State beat short-handed Utah.

Calbert Cheaney scored 20 points off the bench for the Warriors.

Raja Bell had a career-high 25 points, six rebounds and five assists for Utah, which was missing its entire front line.

WASHINGTON (AP) The Wizards signed forward Torraye Braggs to a 10-day contract Friday, filling a hole in the lineup caused by Christian Laettner's five-game drug-policy suspension.

Braggs averaged 3.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11 games with the Houston Rockets this season. He is expected to join the team for Friday's game at Detroit.

Laettner, a forward who started 15 games for the Wizards this season, was suspended Tuesday. He can rejoin the team for the Wizards' Jan. 23 game against Boston.

The NBA announced today that Washington Wizards forward Christian Laettner has been suspended for five games for violating the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug policy.

?We?re extremely disappointed that this happened.? said Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld. ?This comes as a surprise to us, as the league?s substance abuse policy is confidential. I have spoken to Christian and he is embarrassed for his family, his teammates, the Wizards organization and the fans.?

?I deeply regret any embarrassment that my actions have caused to members of my family, my teammates, my fans and the Washington Wizards organization,? said Laettner. ?I accept full responsibility for my actions. I have elected to seek professional assistance to fully educate myself as to the consequences of my behavior to assure that these issues never interfere again with my career and my obligations to my team, my teammates and our fans.?

NEW YORK (AP) Washington Wizards forward Christian Laettner was suspended for five games Tuesday for violating the NBA's drug policy.

The suspension, without pay, began with Tuesday night's home game against Houston.

Spokesman Tim Frank said the league would not comment on when the violation occurred or what substance was involved.

The 6-foot-11 Laettner is in his 12th season out of Duke. He is averaging 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Wizards (10-25), who are sixth in the seven-team Atlantic Division.

He also played for Minnesota, Atlanta, Detroit and Dallas.

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas said yesterday that his strained lower abdomen would sideline him through at least the Feb. 13-15 all-star break, forcing him to miss the next 15 games Steve Wyche from the Washington Post reports. Arenas, has already missed 15 of 35 games because of the injury, which is more of a groin injury.

"I can't keep fighting the pain and performing like I am out there," said Arenas. "We're losing games because of it. I'm going to have to sit out. It's like a scab and I was picking the scab every time I played. Now we're just going to let it heal."

Swingman Jerry Stackhouse (preseason right knee surgery), who was expected to pair with Arenas to form a high-powered scoring tandem but has not played all season, is scheduled to be examined by his New York-based surgeon when the Wizards travel to New Jersey on Wednesday. The results could help determine Stackhouse's return.

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is expected to return to the team in three to six weeks after re-aggravating his strained lower abdominal muscles against Orlando on Friday.

However, according to team sources, their is still a possibility that he could be out even longer.