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 Spurs 113, Thunder 88
Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a
victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Spurs (52-26) stretched their winning streak to eight and now
trail the idle Houston Rockets by only a game-and-a-half for second
place in the Western Conference and the lead in the Southwest
Division.
The Thunder (42-36) have lost four straight games and six of their
last seven. They are now two games behind the New Orleans Pelicans
in the loss column for eighth in the West with only four games left
in the regular season.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 17 points on 7-for-16
shooting.
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Pelicans 103, Warriors 100
Anthony Davis scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second
half, including a running jumper in the lane and two critical free
throws in the final 1:21, to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a
victory over the Golden State Warriors and into the eighth playoff
position in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans (42-35) moved a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City
(42-36) for the final playoff spot in the West after the Thunder
lost at home against San Antonio.
The Pelicans trailed the Warriors (63-15) by 12 points at halftime
but rallied back. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 25 points and
nine assists.
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Hawks 96, Suns 69
The Atlanta Hawks, who set a team record with 19 straight wins
earlier in the season, now also own the franchise mark for victories
in a season with their 58th.
DeMarre Carroll made all but one of his nine shots and the Hawks
held the Phoenix Suns to 31.3 percent shooting.
The Hawks are 58-19 with five games left. The 1986-87 and 1993-94
teams won 57 games.
The loss was the sixth in seven games for the Suns, who fell to
39-39 and are out of the race for the final playoff spot in the
Western Conference.
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Heat 105, Hornets 100
Goran Dragic led a balanced effort with 28 points and five assists
as the Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets in a pivotal game in the
race for one of the Eastern Conference's final playoff berths.
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With Boston and Indiana idle, the Heat (35-43) moved into ninth
place and within a half game of the Celtics for the final playoff
spot. Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Pacers. The Heat also
moved to a game-and-a-half behind idle Brooklyn for the seventh seed
with four games remaining.
Hornets guard Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 29 points.
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Clippers 105, Lakers 100
Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick scored 27 points each as the Clippers
completed the four-game season-series sweep of the Lakers.
The Clippers continued their quest for home court in the first round
of the playoffs, moving to 53-26 to remain in fifth place in the
West.
The Clippers are now tied with Memphis in the standings, but the
Grizzlies hold the number three spot based on a 2-1 head-to-head
record -- but the teams play Saturday in Staples Center.
The Lakers sunk to 20-57, giving them the NBA's fourth-worst record.
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Kings 116, Timberwolves 111
Rudy Gay scored 33 points, and forward Omri Casspi added a
career-high 31 as the Sacramento Kings beat the Minnesota
Timberwolves.
Gay, back after missing three games with concussion symptoms after
being injured March 30 in Houston, was 9-for-17 shooting and also
pulled seven rebounds as Sacramento snapped a five-game losing
streak despite playing without center DeMarcus Cousins.
The Kings' leading scorer and rebounder sat out with a sore right
foot and is unlikely to play Wednesday at Utah. (Editing by Jahmal
Corner/Sudipto Ganguly)
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