MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Davis had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to move the New Orleans Pelicans one step closer to a playoff berth with a 100-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Davis had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to move the New Orleans Pelicans one step closer to a playoff berth with a 100-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
Tyreke Evans added 22 points and five assists and Eric Gordon scored 22 for the Pelicans (44-37). Their magic number for clinching a playoff spot in the rugged Western Conference has been reduced to one. They have the same record as Oklahoma City, but hold the tiebreaker heading into the season finale Wednesday against San Antonio.
Zach LaVine had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Timberwolves (16-65). After the New York Knicks (17-64) beat Atlanta on Monday night, the Wolves now have the worst record in the league.
THUNDER 101, BLAZERS 90
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook scored 36 points, and the Thunder beat the Trail Blazers to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Westbrook picked up his 16th technical at Indiana on Sunday, which would have been an automatic one-game suspension. It was rescinded on Monday morning, allowing him to play in critical game for the Thunder.
Enes Kanter added 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who would have been eliminated from the Western Conference playoff race with a loss.
Meyers Leonard scored a career-high 24 points for Portland. The Trail Blazers, who already were locked into the No. 4 spot in the West, were without injured starters LaMarcus Aldridge (left foot sprain) and Arron Afflalo (right shoulder strain).
BULLS 113, NETS 86
NEW YORK — Nikola Mirotic scored 26 points, Pau Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and the Bulls clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a victory over the Nets.
The Nets fell into ninth place in the Eastern Conference and will need a win Wednesday and a loss by Indiana in at least one of its final two games to reach the postseason.
Jimmy Butler shot 7 for 10 and scored 17 points for the Bulls, who moved a half-game ahead of Toronto into sole possession of third place in the East. They dominated the Nets for the third time this season.
Derrick Rose had 13 points and seven assists but only played 23 minutes because the Bulls were already too far ahead by the time he would’ve gone back for the fourth quarter.
CAVALIERS 109, PISTONS 97
CLEVELAND — LeBron James returned from a day off to record a triple-double as the Cavaliers tuned up for the playoffs with a win over the Pistons.
James had 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Cavs improved to 33-9 since Jan. 15.
J.R. Smith made eight 3-pointers and scored 28 and Timofey Mozgov had 13 rebounds for the Cavs, who sat James and three other starters in a 117-78 loss at Boston on Sunday.
Kyrie Irving scored 12 points in the first half, but Cleveland’s All-Star guard was kept out after halftime with tightness in his right hip. Irving has recently been bothered by an issue with his hip, and the Cavs said they were being cautious with him.
Andre Drummond scored 20 and Caron Butler 19 for the Pistons, who trailed by 26 in the first half.
BUCKS 107, 76ERS 97
PHILADELPHIA — Michael Carter-Williams matched his season-high with 30 points in his first game back in Philadelphia to lead the playoff-bound Bucks to a victory over the 76ers.
O.J. Mayo and Ersan Ilyasova had 13 points apiece and Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in 12 for the Bucks, who capped a turnaround from the NBA’s worst record last season with a playoff berth with Sunday’s win over the Nets.
Robert Covington scored 25 points and Hollis Thompson added 19 for Philadelphia, which played without Rookie of the Year contender Nerlens Noel (ankle) for the second straight game while losing its ninth in a row. The 76ers, who committed 30 turnovers, entered play with the league’s third-worst record. They dropped to 18-63.
ROCKETS 100, HORNETS 90
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Harden scored 29 points, Josh Smith had a double-double and the Rockets defeated the Hornets for the ninth straight time.
Harden was only 7 of 20 from the field, but did plenty of damage from the free throw line where he was 14 of 16.
Smith added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who moved back into a tie with San Antonio for first place in the Southwest division with one game remaining in the season.
Jason Terry had 13 points and Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer chipped in with 11 for the Rockets (55-26).
The Rockets rested center Dwight Howard.
Brian Roberts scored 23 points off the bench for the Hornets, who have lost five straight games.
Charlotte played without starters Al Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller and reserves Lance Stephenson and P.J. Hairston due to injuries.
KNICKS 112, HAWKS 108
ATLANTA — Rookie Langston Galloway scored a career-high 26 points, hitting all six of his 3-point attempts, and the Knicks stunned the playoff-bound Hawks.
The Knicks led by 17 in the first half and held off several furious comebacks by the Hawks. Atlanta came into its final home game of the regular season having long ago clinched the top seed in the East and leading New York by 44 games in the standings.
Atlanta tied the game at 87 on Shelvin Mack’s 3-pointer with 9:49 remaining. But the Knicks, the NBA’s lowest-scoring team, responded as they have so few times during their miserable season — with three straight 3-pointers, two by Galloway, to reclaim control.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points for the Knicks, and Jason Smith had 20.
Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 19 apiece.
HEAT 100, MAGIC 93
MIAMI — Hassan Whiteside tied a career high with 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and the Heat kept their playoff hopes alive with a win over the Magic.
Luol Deng scored 14 points and Goran Dragic finished with 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, who still need a win at Philadelphia on Wednesday and help in three other games to make the postseason for the seventh straight year.
Miami had a 22-point lead whittled down to six in the final minute. But Deng made a 3-pointer with 32.6 seconds left to snap a streak of nine straight Miami misses, and the Heat held on.
Victor Oladipo scored 30 points for the Magic.
JAZZ 109, MAVERICKS 92
SALT LAKE CITY — Rudy Gobert had 20 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks to help the Jazz.
Both teams were extremely short-handed with the coaches deciding to sit several stars. Gordon Hayward (Achilles tendon), Trey Burke (back) and Derrick Favors (coach’s decision) did not play for the Jazz. Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and Monta Ellis were all rested for the playoff-bound Mavs.
Gobert dominated the paint and had his 25th double-double of the season. Bryce Cotton scored a career-high 21 off the bench.
J.J. Barea led the Mavs with 18 off the bench, while Charlie Villanueva finished with 15 points and Amar’e Stoudemire chipped in 15.
KINGS 102, LAKERS 92
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Omri Casspi had 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Kings.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Kings, who outscored the Lakers 27-18 in the fourth period to avoid their ninth loss in 10 games.
Jordan Clarkson scored 15 points of his 23 points in the second half for the Lakers, who suited up only nine players. Both Jordan Hill had and Jabari Brown had 18 points. Los Angeles has dropped seven of eight.
Derrick Williams scored 20 points for the Kings. Carl Landry added 14, Ray McCallum had 12. Jason Thompson added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
WARRIORS 111, GRIZZLIES 107
OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson scored 26 of his 42 points in a sensational second quarter, and the Warriors beat the undermanned Grizzlies.
The All-Star guard outshined teammate and MVP candidate Stephen Curry for a change with his own streaky shooting stretch. Thompson finished 15 of 21 from the floor, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range, to help the top-seeded Warriors (66-15) tune up for the playoffs with another impressive performance.
CLIPPERS 110, NUGGETS 103
LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin scored 22 points, DeAndre Jordan had a double-double and the Clippers eked out a victory over the Nuggets, moving Los Angeles into a three-way tie with San Antonio and Houston for the No. 2 playoff seed in the West.
Jordan had 20 points and 21 rebounds — making a pair of clutch free throws with 2:49 to go — and J.J. Redick scored 20 points in their sixth straight win. Griffin just missed a triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Clippers could end up with the second, third or fifth seeds in the West. They play at Phoenix on Tuesday night and then wait to find out their playoff opponent while the rest of the league ends the regular season on Wednesday.