Philadelphia secured the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and spoiled the Nets’ final game in New Jersey with a 105-87 win on Monday night.
Thaddeus Young scored all 15 of his points in the second half to help the 76ers make the post-season for the second straight year and eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks from playoff contention.
Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand added 15 points apiece, while Andre Iguodala had 14 points and nine assists for Philadelphia.
Photo: Reuters
MarShon Brooks had 18 points to lead the Nets, who will move into a new arena in Brooklyn next season.
SPURS 124, TRAIL BLAZERS 89
In San Antonio, Texas, Tim Duncan and Danny Green both scored 18 points as San Antonio clinched the top playoff spot in the Western Conference and pushed their winning streak to eight.
Wesley Matthews had 24 points for Portland, who lost their sixth straight and have one game left in a tumultuous season.
The Spurs secured the top seed with a second-half surge, winning 22 of their past 25 games.
J.J. Hickson had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the injury-depleted Trail Blazers, who again only used nine players.
WIZARDS 101, BOBCATS 73
In Washington, John Wall had 16 points and 14 assists, Nene scored 18 points and Jan Vesely had 16 points on eight-for-eight shooting as Washington handed Charlotte their 21st straight loss.
The Wizards have their first four-game winning streak since Dec. 9 to Dec. 13, 2007. The 28-point margin of victory equaled their largest of the season.
The Bobcats were competitive for most of the first quarter until Charlotte’s Tyrus Thomas was ejected with 3.6 seconds remaining for throwing an elbow at Washington’s James Singleton. Singleton made two free throws.
Gerald Henderson had 19 points for the Bobcats, while D.J. Augustin added 15.
If Charlotte (7-57) lose their final two games, they will finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history. They play in Orlando, Florida, today and at home tomorrow against New York.
PACERS 103, PISTONS 97
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Paul George scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana downed Detroit.
George made 13 of 15 free throws and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pacers. David West scored 20 points, while Leandro Barbosa and Tyler Hansbrough added 13 points each for Indiana.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel rested regular starters Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and George Hill since Indiana are locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Greg Monroe scored 18 points, Brandon Knight had 16 and Tayshaun Prince added 14 for the Pistons.
Detroit held the Pacers to 38 percent shooting, but Indiana forced 18 turnovers and outrebounded the Pistons 56-42.
GRIZZLIES 109, CAVALIERS 101
In Memphis, Tennessee, Marreese Speights had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Marc Gasol also scored 17 points as Memphis won their fifth straight game.
Rudy Gay scored 15 points, O.J. Mayo had 14, Tony Allen added 13 points and a franchise-record eight steals for the Grizzlies, who won their 10th straight at home. Gay and Mayo led a rally that allowed Memphis to finally put the game away in the closing minutes.
The Grizzlies pulled a half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers hold the tiebreaker between the teams.
Rookie Kyrie Irving had 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting for Cleveland, who lost their fifth in their past six games.
BUCKS 92, RAPTORS 86
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Bucks are out of the NBA playoffs, despite getting 25 points from Brandon Jennings in a victory over Toronto.
Milwaukee’s post-season fate was determined earlier on Monday night when Philadelphia beat New Jersey to clinch the eighth playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and eliminate the Bucks.
Ersan Ilyasova added 19 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee.
James Johnson had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost four straight games.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB