|
 Rose, who missed 20 games after right knee surgery, had little
impact for the Bulls and did not play in the fourth quarter. He
finished with nine points in 19 minutes.
Oladipo led everyone with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Center Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and seven rebounds. The Magic
won their third consecutive game, tying their longest winning streak
of the season.
Guard Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 19 points.
Celtics 113, Pistons 103
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Guard Isaiah Thomas poured in a season-high
34 points off the bench, and Boston eliminated Detroit from playoff
contention.
Thomas also had six assists. Forward Jae Crowder contributed 17
points and six rebounds for Boston, which moved into a tie with the
Brooklyn Nets for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Power forward Brandon Bass tossed in 16 points off the bench, and
shooting guard Avery Bradley chipped in 11 points and five rebounds
for the Celtics, who earned their fifth consecutive road win. Center
Andre Drummond's 22 points and 14 rebounds topped the Pistons, who
had a five-game home winning streak snapped.
Hawks 114, Nets 111
NEW YORK -- Center Al Horford scored 24 points, including a clutch
slam dunk with 19.1 seconds remaining, and Mike Scott added 20
points, leading Atlanta to a victory over Brooklyn, damaging the
Nets' Eastern Conference playoff hopes in the process.
The victory gave the Hawks a franchise-record 59 wins with just 19
losses. The Nets fell into a tie with Boston for the seventh spot in
the Eastern Conference playoff race. Both teams have four games to
play, but the Celtics hold the tiebreaker.
Horford gave the Hawks the lead for good with his dunk. Guard Jeff
Teague added two free throws with 2.7 seconds left for the final
score. Teague chipped in with 15 points and 12 assists. Center Brook
Lopez led Brooklyn with 26 points.
Raptors 92, Hornets 74
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points, and Toronto
won for the first time in more than five years at Time Warner Cable
Arena.
Guards Greivis Vasquez and Louis Williams poured in 16 points each,
while forward Tyler Hansbrough had 12 points and forward James
Johnson added 11 points for Toronto, which snapped a two-game skid.
Guard Kemba Walker scored 15 points for the Hornets, who trailed
69-45 after three quarters and didn't have enough firepower with an
injury-reduced lineup.
Wizards 119, 76ers 90
PHILADELPHIA -- Guard Bradley Beal scored 21 points, and
hot-shooting Washington ripped Philadelphia for its fourth
consecutive win.
Guard Ramon Sessions added a season-high 19 points and center Marcin
Gortat had 18 for the Wizards, who shot a franchise-record 65.3
percent from the field despite resting guard John Wall and forward
Nene.
Forward Robert Covington scored a career-high 27 points for
Philadelphia, which dropped its seventh straight.
Grizzlies 110, Pelicans 74
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Power forward Zach Randolph posted a double-double
with 15 points and 13 rebounds as Memphis rolled to a victory over
New Orleans at FedExForum.
Randolph, like center Marc Gasol, had a game-high six assists. Gasol
also scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two
shots.
The loss dropped New Orleans (42-36) back into a tie with Oklahoma
City for the eighth and last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Thunder were idle Wednesday night, and both teams have four
games left.
Pacers 102, Knicks 86
NEW YORK -- Guard George Hill scored a game-high 20 points to
spearhead Indiana's rout of New York in Madison Square Garden.
Hill, who also had six rebounds and five assists, was among six
Pacers who scored in double figures. Guard C.J. Miles chipped in
with 13 points. Forwards David West and Luis Scola and center Roy
Hibbert finished with 11 each.
The Pacers remain one game back in the race for the final two
Eastern Conference playoff spots. The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn
Nets are both 36-42, while the Miami Heat are tied with Indiana
(both 35-43). All four teams have four games remaining.
[to top of second column] |
Cavaliers 104, Bucks 99
MILWAUKEE -- LeBron James knocked down a 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds
left that snuffed out a late Milwaukee rally and Cleveland clinched
the Central Division title. James finished with 21 points despite
scoring just two in the second and third quarters.
Point guard Kyrie Irving scored 17 of his game-high 27 points in the
second quarter for the Cavs. He hit four of eight 3-point shots and
had nine assists in 41 minutes.
Cleveland shot 49 percent from the field and hit 11 of 34 from
beyond the arc while outrebounding Milwaukee 44-32.
Spurs 110, Rockets 98
SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker, who left Tuesday's game due to a tight
right Achilles tendon scored 27 points during San Antonio's win over
Houston the next night.
The Spurs, who won their ninth straight, meet the Rockets again
Friday in Houston.
The Spurs moved into a tie for fifth place with the Los Angeles
Clippers in the Western Conference. The Clippers have the tiebreaker
advantage for playoff-seeding purposes. The Spurs are only a half
game out of second place, a spot occupied by Houston and Memphis.
Nuggets 119, Lakers 101
DENVER -- Forward Kenneth Faried scored a season-high 29 points and
grabbed 11 rebounds, and Denver used a big second half to pull away
and beat Los Angeles.
Forward Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and guard Ty Lawson had 16
in his return from a one-game absence to help the Nuggets clinch the
season series with the Lakers.
Guard Jordan Clarkson had 21 points and forward Ryan Kelly scored 17
points for the Lakers, who have lost five straight.
Jazz 103, Kings 91
SALT LAKE CITY -- Guard Rodney Hood scored 20 points and collected a
career-high eight rebounds while forward Derrick Favors added 18
points and 11 rebounds to help Utah rally in the second half for a
victory over Sacramento.
Center Rudy Gobert and guard Dante Exum each scored 12 points and
Gobert added 10 rebounds to help the Jazz win the season series
against the Kings.
Forwards Carl Landry and Omri Casspi and guard Ben McLemore each
scored 16 points for Sacramento, which played without usual starters
DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay.
Trail Blazers 116, Timberwolves 91
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Forward LaMarcus Aldridge collected 24 points and
13 rebounds despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter as
Portland routed Minnesota.
Center Robin Lopez finished with 18 points with six rebounds, and
guard Damian Lillard had 17 points and handed out six assists for
the Trail Blazers, who won for the seventh time in nine games.
Forward Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points for the Timberwolves, who
lost their eighth straight contest.
Mavericks 107, Suns 104
DALLAS -- Shooting guard Monta Ellis scored a team-high 20 points,
including a driving layup in a 6-0 run that gave Dallas the lead for
good down the stretch, and the Mavericks officially snuffed out
Phoenix's playoff hopes.
Dallas power forward Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points and drilled a
3-pointer with 23 seconds left that helped nail down the win.
The Suns were eliminated from the playoff race despite a
season-high, 30-point effort from reserve guard Gerald Green.
Phoenix lost for the seventh time in eight games.
-----------------------------------------------
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
