CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 28 points, Evan Mobley had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 135-113 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
Ty Jerome added 18 points off the bench and De’Andre Hunter scored 17 for Cleveland, which has the second-best record in franchise history at 63-16. The Cavaliers secured the No. 1 seed in the East for the fourth time.
Patrick Williams scored a season-high 21 points and made 5 of 6 3-pointers, and Matas Buzelis added 19 points for Chicago. The Bulls have clinched a play-in tournament berth and are tied with Miami for ninth in the East.
PACERS 104, WIZARDS 98
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and Indiana won its fifth straight game, over Washington.
Bennedict Mathurin had 17 for the Pacers who pulled away late for the win.
Justin Champagnie had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Washington, while Alex Sarr had 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as Washington lost its third in a row and for the sixth time in its last seven games.
GRIZZLIES 124, HORNETS 100
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ja Morant had 28 points, five rebounds and eight assists as Memphis beat Charlotte.
Memphis guard Jaylen Wells was taken from the court on a stretcher and transported to a hospital after he made a fast-break dunk and landed hard on his head following a midair collision with Charlotte’s K.J. Simpson. Wells, who was starting his 74th game, was inadvertently undercut by Simpson from behind. Wells was down for eight minutes before being lifted onto the stretcher with his head strapped in to restrict motion. Officials called a Flagrant 2 foul on Simpson, who was automatically ejected.
Desmond Bane scored 19 points, Zach Edey had 17 points and 19 rebounds and Jaren Jackson Jr. 14 points for Memphis (47-32), which kept pace in the Western Conference race. Teams from third to eighth place were separated by two games in the standings heading into Tuesday.
Miles Bridges scored 14 points for Charlotte (19-60).
MAGIC 119, HAWKS 112
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 33 points and 10 rebounds and Orlando beat Atlanta, taking command of the four-team play-in tournament race in the Eastern Conference.
Franz Wagner scored 22 points for the Magic, while Wendell Carter Jr. added 17 points, nine rebounds and six steals and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 points.
Onyeka Okongwu matched his career high with 30 points for the Hawks and added 14 rebounds and three steals. Trae Young scored 28 points and had 10 assists for Atlanta, which has lost four of its last five games.
NETS 119, PELICANS 114
NEW YORK (AP) — Trendon Watford scored 22 points, Drew Timme had 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Brooklyn beat New Orleans.
Timme completed a three-point play with 4:06 remaining in the third quarter to give the Nets the first double-digit lead of the game at 83-71.
The Pelicans rallied. Antonio Reeves made a reverse layup while being fouled with 1:29 left and added the free throw to pull New Orleans within 116-109. After a Timme miss, Reeves added a 3-pointer at 53.1 to get within four.
But, Tosan Evbuomwan sealed it with a 3-pointer at the other end with 35 seconds left.
CELTICS 119, KNICKS 117, OT
NEW YORK (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in overtime after Jayson Tatum’s 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining forced the extra period, and Boston completed a season sweep of New York.
Porzingis matched his season high with 34 points on his 30-footer. Tatum added 32 points as the Celtics extended their road winning streak to eight and improved to 33-7 away from Boston.
They had routed the Knicks by 23, 27 and 13 in the three previous meetings, but needed to fight beyond 48 minutes for this one.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 34 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson added 27 points and nine assists in a strong second game back after a 15-game absence with a sprained right ankle.
BUCKS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 103
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his third straight triple-double as Milwaukee erased a 24-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Minnesota.
The Bucks won their fifth straight and snapped Minnesota’s five-game winning streak.
After trailing 95-71 with less than 10 minutes left, Milwaukee scored 23 straight points and eventually tied it 97-all on AJ Green’s 3-pointer with 3:36 left.
On the Timberwolves’ next possession, Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. and Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert got in a skirmish that resulted in technical fouls for both players. Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr., who was jawing at Gobert at the end of the confrontation, got an additional technical foul.
Porter ended up with 21 points. Portis had 18 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a 25-game suspension.
Edwards scored 25 points for Minnesota. Donte DiVincenzo added 24 and Naz Reid had 17.
THUNDER 136, LAKERS 120
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points, and Oklahoma City beat the Los Angeles after Luka Doncic was ejected.
Doncic scored 23 points before leaving the game in the fourth quarter following his second technical foul. The Thunder outscored the Lakers 29-12 the rest of the way.
Jalen Williams added 26 points for the Thunder, who bounced back from a 126-99 loss to the Lakers on Sunday.
Oklahoma City (65-14) inched closer to clinching the best record in the league and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. The Thunder have a two-game lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers with three games remaining. The team set a single-season franchise record for victories, surpassing the 1995-96 Seattle squad that went 64-18.
LeBron James scored 28 points and Austin Reaves added 24 for the Lakers.
WARRIORS 133, SUNS 95
PHOENIX (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 25 points, Brandin Podziemski added 22 and Golden State coasted past Phoenix Suns to gain ground in a crowded Western Conference playoff race.
The Warriors are trying to secure one of the top six seeds in the West, which would keep them out of the play-in tournament. Golden State is currently tied with the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies at 47-32 for the fourth through sixth spots. The Los Angeles Clippers are right behind the trio at 46-32.
Golden State jumped to a 69-43 lead by halftime. Curry had 19 points before the break, while Podziemski added 17.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 21 points while Grayson Allen and Ryan Dunn added 12.
CLIPPERS 122, SPURS 117
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Ivica Zubac had 24 points and 20 rebounds, Norman Powell scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers surged into fourth place in the Western Conference with a victory over San Antonio.
James Harden had 21 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who have won five straight.
Los Angeles, at 47-32, also currently holds the tiebreaker over Denver, Memphis and Golden State, who all have the same record with three games left in the regular season. All four are right behind the third-place Lakers, who are 48-31.
Kawhi Leonard sat out to rest his perpetually balky right knee, but he’s likely to return for the Clippers’ visit from second-place Houston on Wednesday. Leonard, named the Western Conference player of the week Monday, played in back-to-back games last weekend for the first time in his 13th NBA season, which only began in January due to knee discomfort.
Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and Stephon Castle had 19 for the Spurs, who have lost eight of nine.
The Associated Press
