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 Tobias Harris had 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds for
Detroit (43-37), which gave away a 19-point lead but recovered to
end the longest playoff drought in the Eastern Conference.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tossed in 14 points and Marcus Morris
contributed 13 for the Pistons, who will make their first postseason
appearance since the 2008-09 season.
All-Star Andre Drummond, who scored his 4,000th career point, was
limited to eight points and six rebounds.
Markieff Morris' 29 points led Washington (38-41), which was
eliminated from playoff contention. Bradley Beal supplied 25 points
for the Wizards, who played without All-Star point guard John Wall.
He sat out for the second straight night with a sore right knee.
Nuggets 102, Spurs 98
DENVER -- Jusuf Nurkic scored 21 points and Emmanuel Mudiay had 20
as Denver handed San Antonio its first losing streak of the season.
Playing one night after losing in Golden State and arriving in
Denver in the early morning hours, San Antonio rested six players
that accounted for 72 percent of their point production.
San Antonio (65-14) faces Golden State again Sunday at home and
coach Gregg Popovich said before Friday's game he plans to use his
entire roster. The Spurs, who were led by Tim Duncan's 21 points,
are locked into the Western Conference's second seed.
Denver (33-47) snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Spurs, and a
three-game losing streak overall. The Nuggets are the only team to
beat the Spurs and Warriors this season.
Clippers 102, Jazz 99 (OT)
SALT LAKE CITY -- Jamal Crawford scored 30 points and hit a
game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to lift
short-handed Los Angeles to a shocking victory over Utah.
The Clippers, who've already clinched the No. 4 spot in the
playoffs, played without the bulk of their starting lineup as Chris
Paul, J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan remained in Los
Angeles for rest.
Cole Aldrich had a huge night for Los Angeles with season highs of
21 points and 18 rebounds, while Paul Pierce and Jeff Green each
chipped in 18 points.
Gordon Hayward scored 24 points to lead the Jazz, who dropped to
39-40. Rodney Hood and Shelvin Mack each scored 13.
Utah leads Houston for the final spot in the Western Conference
playoffs by one game with three games remaining.
Mavericks 103, Grizzlies 93
DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points to help Dallas close in on
a playoff spot after pulling away from Memphis.
The Mavericks (41-38) have won six in a row to reduce their magic
number to clinch a Western Conference postseason berth to one with
three regular season games remaining.
Dallas is also one game behind the Grizzlies (42-37) for sixth place
in the conference.
Memphis, which has already qualified for the postseason, has dropped
seven of eight with NBA-leading Golden State up next Saturday at
home.
Mavericks rookie Justin Anderson scored a career-high 19 points and
grabbed 10 boards for his first double-double.
Tony Allen led the Grizzlies with 25 points and seven rebounds.
Raptors 111, Pacers 98
TORONTO -- Rookie Norman Powell scored a career-high 27 points to
help Toronto get past Indiana.
Powell, a 23-year-old shooting guard from UCLA, made the most of a
rare start by driving and getting to the free-throw line 19 times,
hitting 14.
Indiana (42-37) had a three-game winning streak snapped and was kept
from clinching a playoff spot. The Pacers are one victory or a
Chicago Bulls loss from punching their postseason ticket.
With the playoffs long secured for Toronto (53-26), the Raptors
rested four starters -- Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Luis Scola and
DeMarre Carroll, who returned to the lineup in a loss at Atlanta on
Thursday after missing 41 games following surgery on his right knee.
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Celtics 124, Bucks 109
BOSTON -- Tyler Zeller matched a career high with 26 points off the
bench and Boston, continuing its quest to finish third in the
Eastern Conference, set up a Saturday showdown with the Hawks in
Atlanta by hammering Milwaukee.
The win, their fourth straight and eighth in the last 10 games,
moved the Celtics into a tie with the Hawks for third in the
conference. The Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets are each a game
behind and Boston (47-32) hosts Charlotte on Monday and Miami on
Wednesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his recent torrid offense by scoring
17 of his 27 points in the first quarter but fell victim to
second-half foul trouble. Jabari Parker scored 18 points, Miles
Plumlee had 16 and Tyler Ennis had 11 assists.
Hornets 113, Nets 99
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored 22 points and Charlotte shot
49.4 percent in cruising to victory over Brooklyn.
Troy Daniels had 17 points -- with 5-of-7 coming from 3-point range
-- off the bench for the Hornets (46-33), who are fighting to
catapult up the bunched Eastern Conference standings in their final
games of the regular season and secure homecourt advantage in the
playoffs.
The Hornets will be no worse than the sixth seed in the playoffs.
Wayne Ellington led the Nets with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting,
while Thomas Robinson added 16 points and 17 rebounds. The Nets
dropped their seventh straight -- and 11th consecutive road game --
in falling to 21-58.
Magic 112, Heat 109
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and Evan Fournier
had 28 to lead Orlando past Miami.
The Magic (34-45) snapped the Heat's two-game winning streak and
hurt the Heat's efforts to secure home-court advantage in the first
round of the playoffs.
Elfrid Payton had 16 points and 10 assists for Orlando. Victor
Oladipo, who left the game late in the third quarter with a cut over
an eye, had 13 points.
Dwyane Wade led the way with 17 points for Miami (46-33). Goran
Dragic had 15 points and eight assists. Hassan Whiteside contributed
13 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Pelicans 110, Lakers 102
NEW ORLEANS -- Alexis Ajinca scored a career-high 28 points and
grabbed 15 rebounds to lead New Orleans and spoil Kobe Bryant's
final appearance in New Orleans.
With three games left in his NBA career, Bryant played 22 minutes.
He played the entire first quarter and matched his season high for
the first period with 14 of the Lakers' 27 points. Bryant sat out
the second quarter, was held scoreless in seven minutes of the third
and came back in for a final bow, playing three minutes in the
fourth.
Bryant finished 4 of 15 from the field and 3 of 9 from long range.
He also had four assists and three rebounds before leaving to the
standing ovation with 4:15 left.
Knicks 109, 76ers 102
PHILADELPHIA -- Robin Lopez recorded 24 points, 15 rebounds and
three blocks as New York dropped Philadelphia to 10-69.
Sasha Vujacic and Jerian Grant scored 16 points apiece for the
Knicks, who nearly blew a 19-point lead.
Robert Covington had 30 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers.
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