Rajon Rondo scored 16 points with 13 assists as the Boston Celtics moved into a share of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-82 on Tuesday.
With the win, the Celtics and Heat were tied at 54-23 with four games left. The Celtics would win the tiebreaker because they beat Miami in their first three meetings this season; the teams play again in Miami on Sunday.
Paul Pierce scored 18 points, Kevin Garnett had 14 and Ray Allen had 13 for Boston.
Photo: AFP
Nenad Krstic scored eight points in 18 minutes after missing two games with a bruised right knee and Jermaine O’Neal had nine points in 12 minutes, as the Celtics try to find big men to fill in for Shaquille O’Neal.
Thunder 101, Nuggets 94
In Denver, Kevin Durant scored 32 points as Oklahoma City beat Denver in a possible first-round playoff preview.
Photo: AFP
Russell Westbrook added 18 points and James Harden 13, as the Thunder all but secured home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs, building a four-game lead over the Nuggets with five games left, including a rematch tomorrow night in Oklahoma City.
Jazz 86, Lakers 85
In Los Angeles, rookie Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 22 points and hit the go-ahead free throw with six seconds to play as Utah snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory over Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant scored 20 points and hit a tying three-pointer with 16 seconds left, but fumbled the ball away on an ill-conceived drive at the buzzer.
With their second straight loss following a 17-1 stretch, the Lakers might have lost the chance to catch San Antonio atop the Western Conference standings. The Spurs have a three-and-a-half game lead with five games left for Los Angeles.
Paul Millsap scored 22 points for the Jazz.
Warriors 108, Trail Blazers 87
In Portland, Oregon, David Lee had 29 points and a season-high 20 rebounds as Golden State beat Portland.
Monta Ellis added 30 points for the Warriors, who led by as many as 26 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who clinched a spot in the playoffs just before the half when the Houston Rockets lost 104-101 to Sacramento.
Spurs 97, Hawks 90
In Atlanta, Tony Parker scored 26 points as San Antonio moved closer to home-court advantage in the playoffs by ending a four-game road losing streak.
Manu Ginobili had 18 points and Tim Duncan had 17 for the Spurs, which began the night two-and-a-half games ahead of the Lakers in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Joe Johnson had 21 points and Jamal Crawford had 20 for the Hawks.
Bulls 97, Suns 94
In Chicago, Derrick Rose finished with 19 points and Luol Deng scored 18 as Chicago continued to close in on the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over Phoenix.
The Bulls lead the Miami Heat and Boston by three games, with the Celtics visiting today.
The Bulls led by 13 at the half and 22 in the third, only to see Phoenix whittle it to two in the fourth quarter, before pulling out their 16th win in 18 games.
Joakim Noah added 12 points, including eight in the third quarter, after missing three games with a sprained right ankle. Carlos Boozer scored 12 and Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson scored 10 each off the bench.
Vince Carter scored 23 for the Suns, while Grant Hill and Channing Frye scored 13 each, and Steve Nash had 16 assists.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Knicks 131, Raptors 118
‧ Nets 107, Timberwolves 105
‧ Wizards 107, Pistons 105
‧ Kings 104, Rockets 101
‧ Clippers 82, Grizzlies 81
‧ Cavaliers 99, Bobcats 89
‧ Magic 78, Bucks 72
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