In a battle between first and second-placed teams in the Atlantic, it was the New Jersey Nets who sured up their stranglehold on the division with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Richard Jefferson was a major factor down the stretch, hitting 4-of-4 in the last quarter in his 27-point effort on the night as the Nets (38-28) triumphed 112-100 for their sixth straight win.

New Jersey are now seven games in front of Philadelphia for the Division title – its fourth in five years if successful.

Vince Carter top-scored for the Nest with 28 points, while Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas (6-of-17) scored 25 points apiece for the Wizards.

The Nets pulled away in the early portion of the fourth quarter by making 10 of their first 11 shots en route to an overall 56 percent (43-of-77) performance.

After the loss, Washington (34-32) are tied with Indiana for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and play a daunting 12 of its last 16 games on the road.

Other winners in the NBA on Tuesday (US) were; Toronto over New York, Orlando over Charlotte, Memphis over Indiana, New Orleans / Oklahoma city over the Clippers, Dallas over Houston and Minnesota over Miami.