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Josh McRoberts helps Bobcats beat Bucks 95-85

While the Milwaukee Bucks are in the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, getting out of the first round will be a huge challenge given their recent poor play and a difficult first-round opponent.

By virtue of Saturday night’s 95-85 loss to the NBA-worst Charlotte Bobcats – their ninth straight defeat on the road and their 11th in the last 14 games overall – the Bucks will face the defending champion Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Few will give the Bucks a chance to win even a game in the best-of-seven series. Heck, even Bucks swingman Mike Dunleavy called it a ”monumental task.”

If there’s any bit of good news for the Bucks it’s that they hope to get Larry Sanders and Brandon Jennings back for the postseason. Both sat out again against the Bobcats…

Kemba Walker had 21 points, Josh McRoberts nearly had a triple-double and the Bobcats won for only the third time in their last 12 games.

McRoberts had a season-high 18 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine assists.

Bismack Biyombo, the team’s improving second-year center, chipped in 13 points and tied a career-high with 17 rebounds as the NBA-worst Bobcats dominated the Bucks 52-36 on the boards.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

Kevin Durant dominates, Thunder beat Warriors 116-97

Russell Westbrook blocked Stephen Curry’s layup, Kevin Durant corralled the ball and dribbled down court. He threw down a soaring dunk at full extension, then pretended to slice his throat and crossed his hands in prayer.

”Kill ’em and pray for ’em after the game,” Durant said of his new celebration.

Durant finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder regain the Western Conference’s best record with a 116-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

”It’s nothing against the team I’m playing against,” Durant said of his animated moves, adding that somebody encouraged him to do it following a highlight dunk. ”Come out with a mindset and be friends after the game.”

With Durant leading the way, that’s just what the Thunder did.

Kevin Martin scored 23 points off the bench and Russell Westbrook added 18 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who moved a half-game ahead of idle San Antonio for the top seed. The Spurs split the season series with Oklahoma City, but the Thunder (58-21) own the tiebreaker because of its better conference record…

Curry scored 22 points and reserve Jarrett Jack had 19 points on a night the Warriors lost center Andrew Bogut to another injury. The 7-footer left in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle…

Ibaka finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Durant was 10 for 16 from the floor, helping the Thunder outshoot the Warriors 50.6 to 44 percent.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Nate Robinson scores 35, Bulls end Knicks winning streak

The win streak’s over. Bigger goals remain in play.

All the New York Knicks could do was shrug off this one.

Nate Robinson scored a season-high 35 points and the Chicago Bulls stopped another lengthy winning streak, rallying to beat New York 118-111 in overtime Thursday night and end the Knicks’ 13-game run.

”It’s over with,” coach Mike Woodson said. ”You can’t win them all.”

Carmelo Anthony missed a potential winner at the end of regulation, and Robinson took over down the stretch, scoring eight points in overtime to lift the Bulls to another streak-breaking win.

”It would have been nice if Melo knocks down that shot,” Woodson said. ”We could have walked out of here with a win. It didn’t happen.”

Jimmy Butler added 22 points, Luol Deng scored 16, and the Bulls busted a long run for the second time in about a two-week span, ending the Miami Heat’s 27-game streak – the second-longest in NBA history – on March 27.

They put the Knicks’ longest streak in nearly two decades to rest with a huge surge in the second half, offsetting Anthony’s 36 points…

Smith scored 28 points and Raymond Felton added 19, but the Bulls hung on down the stretch in OT to complete the four-game sweep.

— Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

Jazz beat Warriors 97-90, regain 8th spot in West

Some Utah Jazz players watched the Lakers-Clippers game on a big-screen television inside the locker room while they prepared to face the Golden State Warriors. Others followed the contest on cellphones while riding on the late bus to the arena. Coach Tyrone Corbin just checked the final score when the Lakers lost.

”You could see the look on everybody’s face change,” Jazz guard Randy Foye said. ”Nobody said anything. It was just everybody had that look on their face, ‘You know what time it is. You know what we have to do.”’

While the Warriors had a chance to seal a playoff spot, Utah seized the opportunity for itself.

Mo Williams hit a huge 3-pointer in the final seconds to finish with 25 points, Al Jefferson added 19 points and 12 rebounds and the Jazz regained the Western Conference’s final playoff position over the Lakers by holding off the Warriors 97-90 on Sunday night for a monumental road win…

Williams’ 3-pointer with 13.4 seconds remaining put Utah ahead by six and spoiled Golden State’s shot to clinch a playoff berth in front of a 29th sellout crowd of 19,596. The Jazz moved a half-game ahead of the Lakers for the eighth seed. Utah also owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-1 against the Lakers, who lost to the Clippers 109-95 earlier in the day…

Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half and Klay Thompson had 20 points for the Warriors, who were trying to clinch a postseason spot for the first time since 2007 and just the second in 19 years…

David Lee, who has never been to the playoffs in his eight NBA seasons, added 21 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State, which was outplayed inside by Utah’s front line of Jefferson, Derrick Favors (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Paul Millsap (11 points, six rebounds) most of the way.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Clippers beat Lakers 109-95, win division title

Chris Paul held up the red T-shirt reading ‘Can’t Stop Los Angeles’ for a quick postgame photo. He didn’t put it on, and neither did his Clippers teammates.

There was no celebrating on court or in the locker room after they beat the Lakers 109-95 on Sunday to clinch the Clippers’ first Pacific Division title in franchise history against a team that has long overshadowed them.

”It just feels like something we were supposed to do,” said Paul, who had 24 points and 12 assists. ”It means we’re headed in the right direction. We’re not satisfied. We understand this is something small compared to the big picture.”

Blake Griffin had 24 points and 12 rebounds as the playoff-bound Clippers swept the Lakers 4-0 for the first time since Donald Sterling bought the team in 1981.

The 1974-75 team, known as the Buffalo Braves, had the franchise’s only other sweep of the Lakers.

Fans chanted, ”Sweep! Sweep!” in the closing seconds.

Sterling accepted a congratulatory handshake from a fan after the game…

Jamal Crawford had 20 points off the bench, DeAndre Jordan had 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 14 points for the Clippers, who knew that even if they lost, they could have clinched later Sunday if Utah won at Golden State. Utah defeated the Warriors 97-90..

Dwight Howard scored 25 points, including 9 of 13 free throws, for the Lakers, who played without injured starters Steve Nash and Metta World Peace. Kobe Bryant added 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Pau Gasol had 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers’ three-game winning streak ended.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Knicks beat Thunder for 12th straight win

Driving to the basket in crunch time, Raymond Felton slipped to the floor and lost the basketball in the process. All he could do was lunge back at it and bat it toward J.R. Smith as the shot clock ticked closer to zero.

For the second straight possession, Smith beat the buzzer – this time with a 3-pointer – and the Knicks closed out a 125-120 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

”He makes plays like that. He makes tough shots. Sometimes I think he likes to take the tougher shot than the easier shot. They still go in,” said teammate Carmelo Anthony, who had 36 points and 12 rebounds while moving ahead of Kevin Durant to become the NBA’s top scorer.

”That shot, it was a nail in the coffin.”

Smith finished with 22 points, including the two biggest shots of the game. He connected on a 23-foot jumper from the right wing as the 24-second clock expired to put New York up 117-113 with 1:30 to play, then swished a 3-pointer with 56.8 seconds left that all but sealed New York’s 50th win of the season…

The victory was the Knicks’ 12th in a row and put them at 50 wins for the first time in 13 years. They also moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Indiana for second place in the Eastern Conference and moved onto the doorstep of clinching the Atlantic Division title.

Russell Westbrook had 37 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Oklahoma City, which fell a game behind San Antonio for first place in the West with five games left.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Bucks beat Raptors, clinch spot in NBA playoffs

Monta Ellis had 22 points and nine assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks secured their first playoff berth in three seasons with a 100-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Brandon Jennings had 16 points and seven assists, while Larry Sanders added 12 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for Milwaukee, which needed a win and a Miami victory over Philadelphia on Saturday to clinch at least the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat beat the 76ers, 106-87.

The win was Milwaukee’s 10th straight over Toronto, its longest active winning streak over any opponent. And it pulled the Bucks within two games of the idle Boston Celtics for the No. 7 seed.

Alan Anderson led Toronto with 14 points off the bench, and Quincy Acy had 13. Rudy Gay, Toronto’s leading scorer with 18.2 points per game, made 1-of-10 shots and matched his season low with four points.

Toronto shot just 36 percent (30 of 83) and had 18 turnovers.

The game wasn’t close after the first quarter, as the Bucks used a 15-4 run late in the period to go up 24. They led 61-42 at halftime behind 14 points and seven assists from Ellis.

— Reported by Erik Brooks of the Associated Press

John Wall scores 37 in Wizards win over Pacers

On a night when the Washington Wizards celebrated the 35th anniversary of the franchise’s only championship, John Wall played like someone who might someday carry on that legacy, scoring 37 points in a display of speed and flair Saturday to lead the Washington Wizards to a 104-85 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Wall made 16 of 25 shots, throwing his palms up after making an improbable 14-foot sideways runner and flexing his muscles to the fans on the first row after banking in a fast-break layup. He even blocked a layup attempt by Roy Hibbert, the 6-foot-4 point guard rising to swat the ball away from the 7-foot-2 Pacers center.

Wall also had five assists, four rebounds and two blocks for the lottery-bound Wizards, who have won nine straight at home and are 18-4 at the Verizon Center this season when he’s on the floor.

They were especially motivated to put on a good show Saturday night, with Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes and the other members of the 1978 team on hand for a halftime celebration in which a new, larger banner was raised and the franchise, at least one more time, was again known as the Bullets…

Hibbert had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who went cold at the start of the second half. The Wizards took a 51-48 halftime lead and turned it into 63-48, with Wall scoring half of the points in the 12-0 run while Indiana was going 4:15 without a point. The Pacers didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the game.

— Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Kobe, Lakers hold off Grizzlies 86-84

Dwight Howard got in the way when Mike Conley drove the lane in the waning seconds, doing his delicate best to alter Conley’s potential game-deciding shot without fouling.

When Conley couldn’t score over Howard, the Los Angeles Lakers could exhale – one more victory in their desperate playoff push.

Kobe Bryant had 24 points and nine assists, Pau Gasol added 19 points, and the Lakers stayed in the final playoff position in the Western Conference with an 86-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.

Howard hit a free throw with 4.1 seconds left before playing solid defense on Conley’s final shot attempt, and the Lakers won their third straight in the final weeks of their push for a postseason spot. Los Angeles (40-36) barely leads Utah (40-37) – and everybody on the Lakers’ high-priced roster is aware of their situation…

Howard had nine points and 10 rebounds, while Earl Clark and Antawn Jamison contributed 13 points apiece off the bench as the Lakers won without injured starters Steve Nash and Metta World Peace. Los Angeles also avoided getting swept in its season series with the Grizzlies, whose four-game winning streak ended.

But it wasn’t over until Conley, who scored 21 points in a stellar performance, missed a potential go-ahead jumper with 5 seconds left and another layup before the buzzer. The playoff-bound Grizzlies couldn’t score in the final 2 1/2 minutes, and they gave some of the credit to the Lakers’ desperate defense…

Memphis’ Marc Gasol had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a lively matchup with his brother. Zach Randolph added 15 points as the Grizzlies fell one game behind Denver for the fourth seed in the West.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Kevin Durant scores 34, Thunder pound Pacers 97-75

Kevin Durant overcame a bruised left calf to score 34 points and Russell Westbrook added 24 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 97-75 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Oklahoma City (56-20) has won three straight to move into a tie with San Antonio for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The win capped an impressive back-to-back sweep for the Thunder, who beat the Spurs on Thursday night. They arrived at the team hotel in Indy on Friday at about 4 a.m., then went out and prevented the Pacers from clinching their first Central Division title in nine years.

But the Pacers (48-28) can clinch the title with a win Saturday at Washington.

Indiana, which had its five-game win streak ended, was led by Roy Hibbert with 22 points and David West with 17…

Indiana will not play another team from the West unless it reaches the NBA Finals. … The Pacers have won only four division titles since joining the NBA. … Durant also had nine rebounds, while Westbrook finished with seven rebounds and nine assists.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press