The AP reports: Jarvis Hayes hit two late 3-pointers in a 37-second span and the Nets rallied from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit against Bobcats backups in posting a 91-87 victory on Monday night. “It was us coming through at the right time,” said Hayes, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range… Rookie Brook Lopez added 18 points and a career-best 20 rebounds, and Vince Carter had five of his 19 points in the final 4:47 as New Jersey won its second straight, but only its fourth in 12 games. Raymond Felton had 19 points as Charlotte lost its third straight and sixth in seven games.
Day: April 14, 2009
Rose, Gordon lead Bulls comeback win over Pistons
The AP reports: The Pistons blew another fourth-quarter lead in a 91-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls. The defeat means Detroit (39-42) will face top-seeded Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs… Derrick Rose scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, while Ben Gordon added 19. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 25 points and Tayshaun Prince added 19… Detroit broke open a tie game with an 8-0 run late in the second quarter, and still held a 56-48 advantage at the intermission.
Late Bosh 3 leads Raptors over Wizards
The AP reports: The Wizards were handed their 62nd loss, one short of the franchise record, when Chris Bosh made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left Monday night in the Raptors’ 97-96 victory. The Wizards must win their final game on Wednesday in Boston to avoid tying the 2000-01 team with a 19-63 mark… Bosh, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds, converted his first 3-pointer since March 6… Caron Butler scored 28 points and Antawn Jamison had 23. Butler, who gave Washington a 93-80 lead when he hit two free throws with 6:30 to play, missed all four of his shots in the fourth quarter. The final was when his layup attempt was smothered with 0.1 seconds to play.
Cavaliers beat Pacers, clinch home court advantage
The AP reports: LeBron James expects to rest during Cleveland’s regular-season finale, a well-earned reward for leading the Cavaliers to home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. James scored 37 points as the Cleveland beat the Indiana Pacers 117-109 on Monday night to clinch the league’s best record… James’ teammates were strong on Monday. Delonte West scored 20 points, Mo Williams had 18 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight. Rookie Brandon Rush scored 27 points and Troy Murphy had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana. The Pacers had already been eliminated from the playoff race, but had won seven of 10 and had been playing particularly well on offense. The Cavaliers took the Pacers seriously after Indiana stunned them 96-95 on Feb. 10 at Conseco Fieldhouse.