Highlights of Thursday's NBA games

[March 31, 2017]  March 30 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's National Basketball Association games:

Bulls 99, Cavaliers 93

Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler finished with 25 points as the Chicago Bulls completed a season sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 99-93 victory Thursday night at United Center.

Mirotic, who was 9-of-14 from the field, sparked the Bulls from three-point range as Chicago finished 12 of 25 from beyond the arc. Denzel Valentine (12 points) and Robin Lopez (10 points, 11 rebounds) also reached double figures for the Bulls.

Pistons 90, Nets 89

Marcus Morris racked up 28 points and 13 rebounds and Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak by edging Brooklyn at The Palace.

Ish Smith contributed 21 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Pistons. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 12 points, and Andre Drummond secured 11 rebounds for Detroit.

Timberwolves 119, Lakers 104

Ricky Rubio scored a career-high 33 points and added 10 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 32 points as road-weary Minnesota returned home and recorded a victory against Los Angeles.

Andrew Wiggins added 27 points for Minnesota, which won for the seventh time in its past 10 home games. Gorgui Dieng finished with 11 points, a season-high 15 rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves, who exceeded last season's win total with No. 30.

Clippers 124, Suns 118

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul combined for 60 points to lead Los Angeles to a win over slumping Phoenix.

Griffin scored 31 points, falling two points shy of becoming the first Clipper to score 10,000 points with the team. He hit 12-of-19 shots and added seven assists. Paul had 29 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, who moved within one game of the idle Utah Jazz for fourth place in the Western Conference.

Trail Blazers 117, Rockets 107

Surging Portland continued its drive for an NBA playoff berth with a win at home over Houston.

Damian Lillard scored 31 points and added 11 assists to lead the Blazers to their 13th victory in the last 16 outings. Portland improved to 37-38 and climbed 1 1/2 games ahead of idle Denver in their battle for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference.

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