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 Wesley Matthews added 18 points for the Mavericks, who improved to
42-39 with a clutch win at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
The Jazz's playoff hopes suffered a huge hit with the loss. Utah and
Houston, which routed the Timberwolves in Minnesota, are now tied
with 40-41 records. The Rockets own the tiebreaker over the Jazz and
host Sacramento, which won't have DeMarcus Cousins, on Wednesday.
Utah travels to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers in Kobe Bryant's
career finale that same night. Houston can clinch a playoff spot
with a win, while the Jazz need to beat the Lakers and have the
Rockets lose.
Gordon Hayward scored 26 points with six rebounds and four assists
for Utah, but he was 1-for-9 from 3-point range.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert twisted his ankle in the second quarter and
did not play in the second half.
Cavaliers 109, Hawks 94
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points in the third
quarter, and Cleveland clinched home-court advantage throughout the
Eastern Conference playoffs.
 James played 32 of the first 36 minutes before sitting out the
fourth quarter. He shot 13-for-16 and staked the Cavs (57-24) to a
90-75 lead before Kyrie Irving took over in the fourth. Irving
finished with 35 points.
Hornets 114, Celtics 100
BOSTON -- Jeremy Lin turned Asian-American Night at TD Garden into a
night of his own.
The former Harvard star ran wild during the second quarter, scoring
19 of his 25 points in the second quarter, 17 of them during a 31-3
explosion that led Charlotte to a rout of Boston in an important
game for playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics confirmed they hold Asian-American Night to coincide
with Lin's visit, and he came off the bench in the first quarter and
then dominated the game in the second -- when the Celtics went
almost eight minutes without a basket.
Lin, who came in averaging 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists
per game, finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists,
as the Hornets handed the Celtics, losers of two straight, only
their third loss in their last 21 home games. Lin was 10-of-10 from
the foul line.
Wizards 120, Nets 111
NEW YORK -- Ramon Sessions collected 21 points and 12 assists in
three quarters as Washington blew an early 20-point lead before
pulling out a victory over Brooklyn.
Starting for the fourth consecutive game in place of star point
guard John Wall (sore right knee), Sessions recorded his third
double-double of the season, which all have occurred during the past
week. He made his first five shots and finished 7-for-10.
Sessions had half of his points during the first quarter when the
Wizards scored the game's first 20 points in the opening 4:09.
Magic 107, Bucks 98
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Ersan Ilyasova scored 22 points and grabbed six
rebounds to lead Orlando to a victory over Milwaukee at the Amway
Center.
The Magic led from start to finish in their final home game of the
season. The Bucks will close the season Wednesday against the
Indiana Pacers.
Rookie Mario Hezonja had 19 points and a season-high seven assists.
Evan Fournier had 13 points and five rebounds. Center Dewayne Dedmon
had 17 points and eight rebounds. Elfrid Payton had 11 points and 11
assists. Devon Marble, who spent much of the season in the NBA
Development League, had nine points.
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Bulls 121, Pelicans 116
NEW ORLEANS -- Playing point guard for most of the game, Jimmy
Butler scored a team-high 23 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer
from the right wing with 2:40 left, to lift Chicago to a victory
over New Orleans at the Smoothie king Center.
Butler scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and led Chicago back
from a 96-93 deficit. Butler, who had 11 assists, also hit a driving
left-hand layup that gave Chicago a lead with 3:30 to play.
The Bulls scored 11 consecutive points -- six by Doug McDermott --
to take a 104-96 lead. After the Pelicans tied the game at 108 on a
scoop shot in the lane by guard Tim Frazier, Butler scored the
Bulls' next nine points to secure the victory.
Rockets 129, Timberwolves 105
MINNEAPOLIS -- Needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the
Houston Rockets did their part, emphatically.
James Harden led all scorers with 34 points as the Rockets won their
second game in a row, blasting past the Minnesota Timberwolves
129-105 on Monday.
Trevor Ariza added 21 points for Houston, which is vying for the
eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
The Rockets hit 15 3-pointers in the game as their recent streak of
hot shooting from long range continued.
Thunder 112, Lakers 79
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant scored 34 points and Russell Westbrook
collected his 18th triple-double to lead Oklahoma City to a victory
over Los Angeles at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Durant shot 11 of 18 from the field and 6 of 11 from behind the
3-point line. It was the 64th straight game Durant has scored at
least 20 points.
Westbrook posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. His 18
triple-doubles is the most by any player for one season in the past
30 years. Steven Adams posted 13 points and 15 rebounds as the
Thunder improved to 55-26 with one game left Tuesday in San Antonio.
Kings 105, Suns 101
PHOENIX -- Seth Curry scored 20 points and added a career-high 15
assists, and a watered-down Sacramento team held off a late rally to
beat Phoenix.
The Kings played without five regulars -- resting DeMarcus Cousins,
Darren Collison and Rajon Rondo along with the injured Omri Casspi
(hamstring) and Marco Belinelli (foot).
Sacramento's Kosta Koufos had 19 points and eight rebounds. Mirza
Teletovic had a game-high 26 points and Devin Booker had 22 for the
Suns, who missed a chance to win three straight games for the first
time since mid-November. Phoenix played without Tyson Chandler
(concussion) and Archie Goodwin (ankle).
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