BOSTON (AP) — Peyton Prichard scored a career-high 31 points and the Boston Celtics won 131-98 over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Pritchard added 11 assists for his second double-double this season and helped the Celtics avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time this season.
Luke Kornet finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Sam Hauser and Neemias Kweta both also had 16 points for Boston, which led by 33.
The Celtics’ top six rotation players – Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford – all sat out with serious illnesses on what was essentially a rest night for them. Boston has already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference and has held home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Trey Mann led the Hornets with 19 points and eight assists. Nick Smith Jr. added 15 points.
76ers 125, magic 113
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists after an apparent injury scare in the first half and Philadelphia beat Orlando.
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 21 points, as Philadelphia (46-36) won its seventh consecutive game and moved into a tie with sixth-seeded Orlando in the East. The Sixers and Magic are a half-game behind Indiana for the No. 5 seed. The Pacers play Cleveland on Friday night.
Franz Wagner had 24 points, Paolo Banchero had 22 and Jalen Suggs had 20 points for Orlando (46-35), which has lost three straight games. Matic can claim the Southeast Division with a win over Milwaukee on Sunday.
bull 129, magician 127
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rookie Adama Sanogo had 22 points and 20 rebounds, breaking his career highs and helping shorthanded Chicago beat Washington.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan gave starters DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Alex Caruso the night off after clinching the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference with a win at Detroit on Thursday night.
Javonte Green added 24 points, Javon Carter had 20 points and 12 assists and Torrey Craig finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Bulls won two games in a row for the first time in almost a month.
Corey Kispert scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter in Washington’s home finale. Deni Avdija had 23 points and 12 rebounds. The Wizards have lost five consecutive games.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. added 19 points and 12 rebounds, rookie Tristan Vukicevic scored a career-best 19 points, and Jared Butler had 15 points and 10 assists for the Wizards.
Knicks 111, Nets 107
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson had 30 points and 11 assists after a slow start, OG Anunoby scored all 15 of his points in the third quarter and New York beat Brooklyn to clinch home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference first round. Playoffs.
Josh Hart added 16 points and Mitchell Robinson also had 15 for the Knicks, who guaranteed themselves a top-four finish in the East and remain in the hunt for the No. 2 seed. They entered the season in second place in the East, one game behind Milwaukee. The Bucks were playing at Oklahoma City without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard later Friday.
Cam Thomas finished with 41 points. Trenton Watford added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, who have won six of nine.
Cavaliers 129, Pacers 120
CLEVELAND (AP) – Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Jarrett Allen had 29 points and 13 rebounds and Cleveland clinched a playoff spot with a win over Indiana.
Indiana went within 120–118 with 2:04 remaining on Pascal Siakam’s drive, but Darius Garland responded with a 3-pointer on Siakam. The Cavaliers scored the final six points, capped by Isaac Okoro’s three-point play that ended with his somersault.
Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 12 assists, Siakam scored 19 points and Myles Turner had 17 points for the Pacers, who can qualify for the playoffs even with a win or a Philadelphia loss on Sunday. Indiana had won three consecutive matches.
Garland and Caris LeVert each finished with 16 points, and Max Strus had seven points and nine assists. Allen made 13 of 14 shots for Cleveland, which earned its first back-to-back playoff appearances since making four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-2018.
Heat 125, Raptors 103
MIAMI (AP) – Nikola Jovic scored 22 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 20 points and nine assists, and Miami kept its hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament alive by topping Toronto.
Bam Adebayo scored 19 points, Tyler Herro scored 18 points, and Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love each scored 14 points for the Heat (45-36). Miami can still sneak out of the play-in with a win and some help in Sunday’s rematch against the Raptors.
RJ Barrett had 35 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the 18th time in their last 20 games. For Toronto, Immanuel Quickley had 15 points, Bruce Brown had 14 and Kelly Olynyk had 11 rebounds.
Spurs 121, Nuggets 120
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Devonte Graham converted a floater in the lane With 0.9 seconds remaining, and San Antonio handed Western Conference-leading Denver a potentially damaging loss by rallying from 23 points down.
The Nuggets (56-25) moved out of sole possession of first place in the West and into a tie with Minnesota and Oklahoma City. Due to tiebreakers, the Timberwolves were in first place, the Thunder were in second place and the Nuggets were in third place heading into the final day of the regular season on Sunday.
Victor Wembanyama had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the shorthanded Spurs, who are in last place in the West.
Jamal Murray had 35 points and Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Denver, which led 76–53 early in the third quarter and still had a 17-point advantage early in the fourth.
Lakers 123, Grizzlies 120
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) — LeBron James had 37 points, including six and 10 rebounds in the final minutes, and Anthony Davis had 36 points and 14 rebounds as Los Angeles beat short-handed Memphis.
Davis, returning from a left eye injury that kept him out of the Lakers’ loss to Golden State on Tuesday, was 11 of 22 in the game. James scored 13 of 20 to help the Lakers snap a two-game losing streak.
GG Jackson scored 31 points to lead the Grizzlies, while Scottie Pippen Jr. scored a career-high 28 points. Jake Laravia also finished with 28 points, and Jordan Goodwin added 23 points and 16 rebounds.
thunder 125, bucks 107
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points and Oklahoma City beat injury-ravaged Milwaukee to boost its hopes of taking the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Bucks played Friday without All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. He had already announced this on Wednesday Antetokounmpo will miss Missed remainder of regular season with left calf strain. Lillard was out with left joint pain. Milwaukee went 4-4 in games without Antetokounmpo this season.
Chet Holmgren had 22 points and nine rebounds and Aaron Wiggins scored 19 points for the Thunder, who have won four in a row. Oklahoma City shot 52.8% from the field.
Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez each scored 18 points for Milwaukee.
Timberwolves 109, Hawks 106
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 25 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks, helping Minnesota beat Atlanta and move into a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference.
Naz Reed had 19 points, Anthony Edwards scored 14 points and Mike Conley added 13 points and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who welcomed back All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 11 points. Missed 18 games after surgery To repair the damaged meniscus in his left knee.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 19 points in 27 minutes, his second game back after missing six weeks with a hand injury. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 17 points and Clint Capela added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
Pistons 107, Mavericks 89
DALLAS (AP) – Marcus Sasser scored 24 points in his hometown return, including 13 in a row during the third quarter, and Detroit beat Dallas.
The Pistons (14-67) led for most of the night against a Mavericks team that had won five consecutive games and 16 of 18 to secure a playoff spot.
Chimezie Metu scored 18 points for Detroit, matching a career high with four 3-pointers.
Rockets 116, Trail Blazers 107
Portland, Ore. (AP) – Jalen Green had 26 points and Houston spoiled Portland’s final game at home this season.
Aaron Holiday came off the bench to score 18 points, while Amen Thompson had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Houston, which was already out of the playoff race.
Scooter Henderson had 30 points for the Blazers, who have lost four in a row and 14 of their last 16 with one game remaining. Portland was in second to last place in the Western Conference.
Pelicans 114, Warriors 109
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — C.J. McCollum hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining to help seal it and scored 28 points, Zion Williamson had 26 and New Orleans beat Golden State to extend its playoff position.
Trey Murphy III converted a pair of free throws with 9 seconds remaining and finished with 24 points and eight rebounds for New Orleans.
Stephen Curry scored 33 points and hit a 3 with 56 seconds remaining, but missed the top of the arc with 13 seconds remaining, and the Warriors’ loss will send them into the play-in tournament’s 9-10 seed matchup on Wednesday. is likely to. ,
Klay Thompson added 19 points and six rebounds, Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points and Draymond Green contributed 12 rebounds and 11 assists for 2022 NBA champion Golden State in just its second loss in the last 11 games.
Jazz 110, Clippers 109
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Reserve Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored a season-high 27 points and Utah beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Bones Hyland led the Clippers with 20 points off the bench and Rich Coffey added 16 points.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard missed his seventh consecutive game because of right knee inflammation and is unlikely to return before the playoffs begin next weekend.
Paul George, who played only eight minutes, and Ivica Zubac added 10 points for the Clippers, who had beaten the Jazz by 29 points a week earlier.
Surya 108, Raja 107
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Jusuf Nurkic made late free throws and Phoenix rallied to beat Sacramento.
With the game tied at 107 after Phoenix had overcome a 16-point deficit, Domantas Sabonis fouled Nurkic while fighting for the rebound on a missed shot by the Suns’ Grayson Allen. Nurkic, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, missed the first, but hit the second to give the Suns the lead with 8.1 seconds to play.
Bradley Beal then picked off De’Aaron Fox as Fox attempted to pass for a potential winning shot at the other end.
Devin Booker added 21 and Beal added 20 for Phoenix. Sabonis had 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings.
