LDN - Sports

Highlights of Wednesday's NBA games

[April 06, 2017] April 5 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Wednesday's National Basketball Association games:

Cavaliers 114, Celtics 91

LeBron James scored 36 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated Boston 114-91 on Wednesday and pulled one game ahead of the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Kevin Love finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving added 19 points for Cleveland, which dominated the highly anticipated showdown for the No. 1 playoff seed.

The blowout clinched the season series 3-1 for the Cavaliers, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if Boston catches Cleveland again over the final four games.

The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 58-48 inside and pulled down 51 rebounds to Boston's 38. Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 26 points.

Warriors 120, Suns 111

Stephen Curry scored 23 of his 42 points in the first 10 minutes, and Golden State clinched the top spot in the Western Conference and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over Phoenix.

Klay Thompson added 22 points for the Warriors, who won their 13th consecutive game and hit the 65-win mark for the third straight season.

The Warriors had a 40-point scorer for the third game in a row. Curry scored 42 points in a 139-115 win against the Washington Wizards on Sunday, and Thompson had 41 in a 121-107 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Thunder 103, Grizzlies 100

Russell Westbrook finished a rebound shy of setting an NBA record for most triple-doubles in a season, but his 45 points and 10 assists paced Oklahoma City to victory over Memphis.

Westbrook had his streak of seven consecutive triple-doubles snapped a night after tying Oscar Robertson's record of 41 triple-doubles. Westbrook needs six assists in the remaining four games to average a triple-double for the season.

The Grizzlies lost their third straight to fall 3 1/2 games behind sixth-place Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. Marc Gasol led Memphis with 23 points, and Zach Randolph added 20 points and nine rebounds.

Rockets 110, Nuggets 104

James Harden recorded his 61st double-double and delivered a scoring flurry down the stretch to carry Houston to a season sweep of Denver.

Harden finished with 31 points and 10 assists and scored 15 consecutive points for the Rockets to keep them afloat in a tense fourth quarter. Houston clinched the third seed in the Western Conference.

Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 23 points. Nikola Jokic tallied 12 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists and five steals for Denver, which dropped one game behind Portland for the eighth and final postseason slot in the West.

Heat 112, Hornets 99

Goran Dragic scored 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting as Miami remained in the hunt for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a victory over Charlotte.

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James Johnson added 26 points, hitting 6-of-7 three-point attempts for the Heat while Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 20 rebounds. The Heat are in a three-way tie for seventh with Chicago and Indiana in the East, but they are eighth because of tiebreakers.

Nicolas Batum scored 24 points for the Hornets, who have all but lost hope for the playoffs now that they are 2 1/2 games behind those three teams.

Raptors 105, Pistons 102

Kyle Lowry erupted for 27 points and 10 assists in his first game since the All-Star break, and Toronto erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to down Detroit.

The All-Star point guard missed 21 games because of a right wrist injury that required surgery. Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points, Cory Joseph supplied 15 and DeMar DeRozan contributed 12 points and 10 assists despite 5-for-17 shooting.

The Raptors moved a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. Ish Smith and Tobias Harris had 16 points apiece for the Pistons, who lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

Lakers 102, Spurs 95

Tyler Ennis scored 19 points to lead five Los Angeles players in double figures as the Lakers rolled past San Antonio.

Jordan Clarkson added 16 and Larry Nance Jr. hit for 15 for Los Angeles, which won for the second straight game against a team that clinched a playoff berth. Julius Randle scored 11 points and David Nwaba added 10 for the Lakers.

Tony Parker and Davis Bertans led the Spurs with 14 points apiece. Kawhi Leonard and Pau Gasol added 11 each for San Antonio, which was outrebounded 47-37.

Clippers 112, Mavericks 101

Blake Griffin scored 32 points and J.J. Redick added 25 as Los Angeles defeated Dallas Mavericks.

Los Angeles won its fourth straight game and eighth in the past 10 to pull within a half-game of the Jazz for fourth place in the Western Conference. The win kept the Clippers 2 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-place Oklahoma City Thunder.

Los Angeles guard Chris Paul registered 22 points and 11 assists, and DeAndre Jordan posted his 38th double-double of the season with 11 points and 20 rebounds.

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