NBA
Sunday, April 5
Kings' F Rudy Gay, out Sunday
Gay has a concussion and has missed the last two games. He will not play Sunday against the Jazz.
Pacers' F Paul George, probable Sunday
George continues to recover after breaking his leg in the offseason and is expected to return Sunday against the Heat.
There may be no hotter team in NBA than the Spurs
In the San Antonio Spurs past 10 contests they are 9-1 straight up and against the spread. Most of these contests were not even close with the Spurs posting an average scoring margin of +16.2 during their past 10.
San Antonio host the Golden State Warriors, who will be playing their second of back-to-back games, Sunday. The Spurs are currently 5.5-point favorites.
NBA roundup: Smart's tip-in lifts Celtics into eighth in East
TORONTO -- Rookie Guard Marcus Smart converted a tip-in at the buzzer in overtime and the Boston Celtics moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a dramatic 117-116 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
Smart scored 15 points and hit two big shots in overtime. He had a corner 3-pointer that gave Boston a 114-113 lead with 32 seconds left, but after forward Brandon Bass split two at the line with 18 seconds left, Toronto guard Lou Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining for a 116-115 lead.
After the initial play did not develop, Boston coach Brad Stevens called a timeout with 2.6 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, Thomas drove to the hoop, but his layup attempt was blocked by Williams but not enough for Toronto to seize possession and Smart put back the rebound just before the buzzer sounded.
The Celtics improved to 35-42 and are a half-game behind the Nets. Boston owns the tiebreaker over Brooklyn by virtue of its 110-91 win at the Barclays Center on March 23.
Thomas led the Celtics with 25 points and center Tyler Zeller added 20.
Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 18 of his 38 points after the third quarter and forced overtime by hitting a short jumper with six seconds left in regulation. Williams added 27 points for the Raptors, who gave up a go-ahead tip-in during the final minute of a game for the second time in as many nights.
Pistons 99, Heat 98
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- If Miami misses the playoffs for the first time in seven years, it might spend the offseason lamenting a late-game collapse against Detroit.
The Heat fell out of eighth place by squandering a 15-point lead in the final 5:14. The Heat dropped a half-game behind the Boston Celtics into ninth place and face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Point guard Reggie Jackson scored 29 points for Detroit and hit the go-ahead layup with five seconds left. Jackson added 11 assists and scored 12 of his points during a 21-5 game-ending run.
Guard Dwayne Wade led the Heat with 24 points but missed a 3-pointer on the final possession. Point guard Goran Dragic added 21 points for Miami.
Hawks 131, Nets 99
ATLANTA -- Brooklyn could have further solidified its grasp on the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference but instead was routed by Atlanta, which equaled a franchise record with its 57th victory.
Center Al Horford and forward DeMarre Carroll scored 20 points apiece for the Hawks, who placed seven in double figures after having three days off. Atlanta equaled the franchise record set in the 1986-87 and 1993-94 seasons by shooting 59.8 percent from the field, including 51.5 percent on from 3-point range and collecting 40 assists, two shy of its season high.
Brooklyn had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped and is a half-game ahead of the Celtics. Guard Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 19 points, but center Brook Lopez and point guard Deron Williams were held to 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Hornets 92, 76ers 91
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Guard Gerald Henderson's driving layup with six seconds remaining gave Charlotte a crucial victory over Philadelphia and kept it alive in the race for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Henderson was 3 of 12 from the field but made his final shot when he finished the play through heavy traffic. Guard Kemba Walker, who was the first option on the last play, scored 24 points for Charlotte, which is 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the East.
Guards Ish Smith and Robert Covington scored 15 points apiece for the 76ers, who have dropped 19 of their last 20 road games.
Wizards 92, Grizzlies 83
MEMPHIS, Tenn -- Guard Bradley Beal scored 20 points and point guard John Wall collected 18 points and 14 assists as Washington won in Memphis for the first time in more than a decade.
Forward Drew Gooden added 16 points for Washington, which snapped a nine-game losing streak in Memphis. The Wizards had not won there since November 2004 when they won the first regular-season game at FedEx Forum.
Center Marc Gasol scored 18 points and guard Mike Conley added 14 for Memphis, which dropped into third place and a half-game behind the idle Houston Rockets in the Western Conference.
Magic 97, Bucks 90
MILWAUKEE -- Forward Tobias Harris scored 23 points against his former team and center Nikola Vucevic added 20 as Orlando beat Milwaukee.
Guard Victor Oladipo added 15 points for Orlando, which won its second straight road game after a 12-game skid away from home.
Forward Ersan Ilyasova scored 18 points and guard Khris Middleton added 15 for Milwaukee, which is in sixth place and leads the Brooklyn Nets by 2 1/2 games.
The Bucks needed to beat the Magic, but they also needed Boston, Charlotte and Miami to lose Saturday night to clinch. While the Heat lost at Detroit, the Hornets and Celtics both won.
Warriors 123, Mavericks 110
DALLAS -- Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Golden State extended its winning streak to 12 games with a wire-to-wire victory over Dallas.
Reserve Andre Iguodala added 18 points for Golden State, which has been beaten nine opponents during its run by at least 13 points. Guard Stephen Curry finished with 11 for the Warriors, the top seed in the Western Conference.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 for seventh-seeded Dallas, which has lost seven straight to Golden State.
Trail Blazers 99, Pelicans 90
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds as Portland defeated New Orleans.
Guard Damian Lillard scored 19 points and center Chris Kaman tied his season high with 16 points. Kaman also had 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (50-26), who won for the sixth time in seven outings.
Guard Eric Gordon scored 22 points, guard Tyreke Evans accumulated 21 points, seven rebounds and nine assists and forward Anthony Davis added 19 points and nine boards for the Pelicans (41-35), who saw a four-game win streak snapped and are one game behind eighth-place Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Clippers 107, Nuggets 92
DENVER -- Guard J.J. Redick scored 25 points, guard Chris Paul added 23 points and nine assists as Los Angeles defeated Denver for its ninth win in 10 games.
Center DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 22 rebounds for the Clippers, who gained ground in playoff positioning in the ever-shifting Western Conference race. Saturday's win, coupled with Memphis losing at home to Washington, moved the Clippers within a game of the third seed with five games remaining.
Forward Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 17 points and forward Kenneth Faried had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Suns 87, Jazz 85
PHOENIX -- Reserve guard Gerald Green scored 24 points and Phoenix snapped a five-game losing streak.
Green made 10 of 17 shots from the field and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Point guard Eric Bledsoe added 16 points for the Suns, who kept their remote playoff hopes alive.
Forward Gordon Hayward scored 21 points for the Jazz and rookie guard Rodney Hood added 17.
Sunday, April 5
Kings' F Rudy Gay, out Sunday
Gay has a concussion and has missed the last two games. He will not play Sunday against the Jazz.
Pacers' F Paul George, probable Sunday
George continues to recover after breaking his leg in the offseason and is expected to return Sunday against the Heat.
There may be no hotter team in NBA than the Spurs
In the San Antonio Spurs past 10 contests they are 9-1 straight up and against the spread. Most of these contests were not even close with the Spurs posting an average scoring margin of +16.2 during their past 10.
San Antonio host the Golden State Warriors, who will be playing their second of back-to-back games, Sunday. The Spurs are currently 5.5-point favorites.
NBA roundup: Smart's tip-in lifts Celtics into eighth in East
TORONTO -- Rookie Guard Marcus Smart converted a tip-in at the buzzer in overtime and the Boston Celtics moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a dramatic 117-116 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
Smart scored 15 points and hit two big shots in overtime. He had a corner 3-pointer that gave Boston a 114-113 lead with 32 seconds left, but after forward Brandon Bass split two at the line with 18 seconds left, Toronto guard Lou Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining for a 116-115 lead.
After the initial play did not develop, Boston coach Brad Stevens called a timeout with 2.6 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, Thomas drove to the hoop, but his layup attempt was blocked by Williams but not enough for Toronto to seize possession and Smart put back the rebound just before the buzzer sounded.
The Celtics improved to 35-42 and are a half-game behind the Nets. Boston owns the tiebreaker over Brooklyn by virtue of its 110-91 win at the Barclays Center on March 23.
Thomas led the Celtics with 25 points and center Tyler Zeller added 20.
Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 18 of his 38 points after the third quarter and forced overtime by hitting a short jumper with six seconds left in regulation. Williams added 27 points for the Raptors, who gave up a go-ahead tip-in during the final minute of a game for the second time in as many nights.
Pistons 99, Heat 98
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- If Miami misses the playoffs for the first time in seven years, it might spend the offseason lamenting a late-game collapse against Detroit.
The Heat fell out of eighth place by squandering a 15-point lead in the final 5:14. The Heat dropped a half-game behind the Boston Celtics into ninth place and face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Point guard Reggie Jackson scored 29 points for Detroit and hit the go-ahead layup with five seconds left. Jackson added 11 assists and scored 12 of his points during a 21-5 game-ending run.
Guard Dwayne Wade led the Heat with 24 points but missed a 3-pointer on the final possession. Point guard Goran Dragic added 21 points for Miami.
Hawks 131, Nets 99
ATLANTA -- Brooklyn could have further solidified its grasp on the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference but instead was routed by Atlanta, which equaled a franchise record with its 57th victory.
Center Al Horford and forward DeMarre Carroll scored 20 points apiece for the Hawks, who placed seven in double figures after having three days off. Atlanta equaled the franchise record set in the 1986-87 and 1993-94 seasons by shooting 59.8 percent from the field, including 51.5 percent on from 3-point range and collecting 40 assists, two shy of its season high.
Brooklyn had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped and is a half-game ahead of the Celtics. Guard Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 19 points, but center Brook Lopez and point guard Deron Williams were held to 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Hornets 92, 76ers 91
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Guard Gerald Henderson's driving layup with six seconds remaining gave Charlotte a crucial victory over Philadelphia and kept it alive in the race for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Henderson was 3 of 12 from the field but made his final shot when he finished the play through heavy traffic. Guard Kemba Walker, who was the first option on the last play, scored 24 points for Charlotte, which is 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the East.
Guards Ish Smith and Robert Covington scored 15 points apiece for the 76ers, who have dropped 19 of their last 20 road games.
Wizards 92, Grizzlies 83
MEMPHIS, Tenn -- Guard Bradley Beal scored 20 points and point guard John Wall collected 18 points and 14 assists as Washington won in Memphis for the first time in more than a decade.
Forward Drew Gooden added 16 points for Washington, which snapped a nine-game losing streak in Memphis. The Wizards had not won there since November 2004 when they won the first regular-season game at FedEx Forum.
Center Marc Gasol scored 18 points and guard Mike Conley added 14 for Memphis, which dropped into third place and a half-game behind the idle Houston Rockets in the Western Conference.
Magic 97, Bucks 90
MILWAUKEE -- Forward Tobias Harris scored 23 points against his former team and center Nikola Vucevic added 20 as Orlando beat Milwaukee.
Guard Victor Oladipo added 15 points for Orlando, which won its second straight road game after a 12-game skid away from home.
Forward Ersan Ilyasova scored 18 points and guard Khris Middleton added 15 for Milwaukee, which is in sixth place and leads the Brooklyn Nets by 2 1/2 games.
The Bucks needed to beat the Magic, but they also needed Boston, Charlotte and Miami to lose Saturday night to clinch. While the Heat lost at Detroit, the Hornets and Celtics both won.
Warriors 123, Mavericks 110
DALLAS -- Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Golden State extended its winning streak to 12 games with a wire-to-wire victory over Dallas.
Reserve Andre Iguodala added 18 points for Golden State, which has been beaten nine opponents during its run by at least 13 points. Guard Stephen Curry finished with 11 for the Warriors, the top seed in the Western Conference.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 for seventh-seeded Dallas, which has lost seven straight to Golden State.
Trail Blazers 99, Pelicans 90
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds as Portland defeated New Orleans.
Guard Damian Lillard scored 19 points and center Chris Kaman tied his season high with 16 points. Kaman also had 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (50-26), who won for the sixth time in seven outings.
Guard Eric Gordon scored 22 points, guard Tyreke Evans accumulated 21 points, seven rebounds and nine assists and forward Anthony Davis added 19 points and nine boards for the Pelicans (41-35), who saw a four-game win streak snapped and are one game behind eighth-place Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Clippers 107, Nuggets 92
DENVER -- Guard J.J. Redick scored 25 points, guard Chris Paul added 23 points and nine assists as Los Angeles defeated Denver for its ninth win in 10 games.
Center DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 22 rebounds for the Clippers, who gained ground in playoff positioning in the ever-shifting Western Conference race. Saturday's win, coupled with Memphis losing at home to Washington, moved the Clippers within a game of the third seed with five games remaining.
Forward Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 17 points and forward Kenneth Faried had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Suns 87, Jazz 85
PHOENIX -- Reserve guard Gerald Green scored 24 points and Phoenix snapped a five-game losing streak.
Green made 10 of 17 shots from the field and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Point guard Eric Bledsoe added 16 points for the Suns, who kept their remote playoff hopes alive.
Forward Gordon Hayward scored 21 points for the Jazz and rookie guard Rodney Hood added 17.
