The AP reports: Three long jumpers in less than 2 minutes, and a one-point lead was up to nine. Soon Michael Beasley, Dwyane Wade and Yakhouba Diawara joined the fun, contributing to a Miami Heat mark for 3s in a quarter in Saturday night’s 118-104 victory over the Washington Wizards… The Heat went 8-for-13 from 3-point range over the final 12 minutes and 14-for-32 for the game… Wade scored 33 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth, as the Heat remained a game behind the fifth-place Philadelphia 76ers in the jostle for postseason seeding in the Eastern Conference… Jermaine O’Neal and Diawara each added 16 points for the Heat. Miami played without forward Udonis Haslem, who cut his right thumb in Friday night’s win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Caron Butler scored 27 points, and Antawn Jamison had 23 to lead the Wizards, who were without Gilbert Arenas as part of the three-time All-Star’s plan to play in selected games during his comeback from knee surgery.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
76ers clinch playoff spot with win over Pistons
The AP reports: Wanting to clinch a playoff berth at home, Philadelphia coach Tony DiLeo relied on Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller, and they came though for the 76ers in a 95-90 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday. Playing the entire second half, Iguodala scored 16 of his season-high 31 points, and Miller added a triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the 76ers advanced to the playoffs for the second straight season… Rodney Stuckey scored 23 points for Detroit, and Kwame Brown added a season-high 15 in the loss, which combined with Chicago’s win over New Jersey, put the Pistons a half-game behind the Bulls for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.
Gordon leads Bulls over Nets, 103-94
The AP reports: Ben Gordon scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, John Salmons added 17 and the Bulls beat the New Jersey Nets 103-94 on Saturday for their eighth win in 11 games… “The thing with BG is there are not a lot of shots that he takes that you can say, ‘Oh that’s a terrible shot,’ because you know he’s capable of making it,” said Joakim Noah, who contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds… Brook Lopez led the fading Nets (31-45) with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Anderson scored 17 and grabbed 10 boards, but Vince Carter struggled with a sore left Achilles tendon after tweaking it in practice the previous day.
Raptors stay alive, eliminate Knicks in 102-95 win
The AP reports: Andrea Bargnani scored 23 points, Chris Bosh had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Raptors extended their winning streak to six with a 102-95 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday. Shawn Marion added 12 points and 13 boards for the Raptors, who stayed alive for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Toronto would have been eliminated with a loss and a victory by Chicago… Jose Calderon scored 15 points for Toronto, on its longest winning streak since its Atlantic Division championship team won six in a row in April 2007… Al Harrington and Chris Duhon each scored 22 points for the Knicks, who tumbled out of playoff contention with a disappointing finish to D’Antoni’s first season. New York has lost four straight and 10 of its last 11 games.
Crawford scores 39, short-handed Warriors beat Hornets 111-103
The AP reports: Jamal Crawford scored 39 points, Anthony Randolph matched his career high with 20 points and added a career-high 15 rebounds and Golden State beat the New Orleans Hornets 111-103 on Friday night… Anthony Morrow had 24 points on a career-high five 3-pointers, the last of which gave the Warriors a 99-92 lead with 2:36 remaining. Chris Paul scored on a quick layup to pull New Orleans within five, but that was as close as the Hornets got… Paul had 43 points, nine assists and four rebounds, and David West added his 25th double-double of the season with 31 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, which lost for only the third time in nine games. Peja Stojakovic, playing his first game after being sidelined since March 2 because of back spasms, had seven points in 25 minutes.
Lakers get win no.60, beat Rockets 93-81
The AP reports: With six games left in the season and the Lakers already in the playoffs, Phil Jackson still won’t take his foot off the gas. Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 20 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their 60th victory by beating the Houston Rockets 93-81 on Friday night. Gasol and Bryant both played 38-plus minutes for the Lakers, who reached 60 wins for the 11th time in franchise history but the first since they went 67-15 in 1999-2000… Ron Artest had 21 points for the Rockets, who slid into fifth in the Western Conference, a half-game behind Portland… Yao Ming had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks for the Rockets. Luis Scola scored 16 for Houston, which was swept by the Lakers in the season series for the first time in seven years.
Nash, Suns beat Kings 139-111, gain ground in West
The AP reports: The Suns moved within three games of the Mavericks for the final playoff spot in the West, with six to play, after their 139-111 rout of Sacramento on Friday night and Dallas’ 107-102 loss at Memphis… Steve Nash had 29 points and nine assists, then sat out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters, resting up for Dallas, where a Phoenix victory could reduce the Mavericks’ lead to two with five games to play… Francisco Garcia scored a season-best 29 for the Kings, who beat Phoenix last Sunday in Sacramento. The Kings were without leading scorer Kevin Martin, who sat out with a sprained left ankle two nights after scoring a career-high 50 in Sacramento’s 143-141 loss to Golden State. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes had career highs with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Jason Richardson scored 19 points for Phoenix.
Timberwolves end 9-game road losing streak, beat Jazz 103-102
The AP reports: Minnesota ended a nine-game road losing streak and dealt a crushing setback to Utah’s diminishing homes for home-court advantage in the playoffs. Although the Timberwolves are lottery-bound once again this summer, they showed how they can still rattle the postseason seedings by beating the Jazz 103-102 on Friday night, ending Utah’s 15-game home winning streak. “I think we put a little shock in their plans,” said Rodney Carney, who scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter. Ryan Gomes also scored 25 points, and Mike Miller had 14 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which outrebounded Utah 42-28… Deron Williams finished with 34 points and 11 assists, but missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it for the Jazz… Kyle Korver scored 19 points for Utah, and Andrei Kirilenko had 13, going 6-for-7 from the floor and blocking three shots, but Mehmet Okur was the only Utah starter other than Williams to reach double figures, finishing with 11.
Aldridge pushes Blazers past Thunder 107-72
The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge had 35 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers added to their string of blowouts, routing Oklahoma City 107-72 on Friday night. The Blazers moved into position to clinch a playoff spot with a victory or a Phoenix loss. The Suns beat Sacramento on Friday night… Brandon Roy added 15 points, and Steve Blake had 14 points and 10 assists for Portland. Kevin Durant, another one of Barnes’ former pupils, led the Thunder with 13 points. Jeff Green scored 12 points, and Shaun Livingston made his Oklahoma City debut with 10 points off the bench.
Grizzlies beat Mavs for 3rd straight win
The AP reports: Long eliminiated from playoff contention, the Memphis Grizzlies looked a lot more like a postseason team than the Dallas Mavericks. Memphis broke a 97-all tie by outscoring the Mavericks 10-5 in the final 1:42 en route to a 107-102 victory Friday night. Rudy Gay had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 25 points as Memphis won its third straight game… O.J. Mayo, who put the game out of reach with consecutive baskets, added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies. Marc Gasol had 13 points and nine rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 35 points, 25 of them in the second half. Jason Terry scored 16 points, and Erick Dampier, Brandon Bass and Jose Barea had 10 each… Mavericks F Josh Howard, who returned two games ago after missing 11 with a bum left ankle, did not play. The official reason was the sore ankle, but Howard also aggravated a left wrist injury when he took a charge Wednesday night against Miami.