The AP reports: Kevin Durant and the Thunder took care of that in the final home game of their inaugural season in Oklahoma City. Durant had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead three players with double-doubles, and the Thunder knocked the Bobcats out of playoff contention with an 84-81 victory Friday night… Nenad Krstic added 19 points, Jeff Green had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook had 10 points and 11 assists for Oklahoma City. D.J. Augustin led the Bobcats with 20 points, including a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left that got Charlotte within 83-81. Green then swatted away a runner by Raymond Felton and Krstic corralled the rebound on the floor with 2.2 seconds left.
Pistons beat Nets 100-93, clinch playoff spot
The AP reports: On Friday, the Pistons got 46 points from their bench and clinched a playoff spot with a 100-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets. “We’re getting better and better every game,” said reserve guard Will Bynum, who led the Pistons with 20 points… New Jersey (32-47) lost for the eighth time in 10 games as coach Lawrence Frank went with a young lineup for much of the game. Rookie Ryan Anderson led the Nets with 20 points, one short of his career high, and fellow first-year players Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brook Lopez had 16 each.
Grizzlies end 10-game skid against listless Suns
The AP reports: Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo scored 20 points apiece, and the Grizzlies snapped a 10-game losing streak against Phoenix with a 106-89 victory. “We’re playing to get better,” said Memphis point guard Mike Conley, who scored 17 points… Hakim Warrick had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Marc Gasol finished with 14 points. Jason Richardson and Louis Amundson led the Suns with 13 points apiece, the only Phoenix players in double figures. Starters Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash and Matt Barnes finished with nine points.
Harrington’s 27 points leads Knicks past Magic
The AP reports: Al Harrington scored 27 points, Wilson Chandler had 22 and the Knicks dealt a crushing blow to Orlando’s hopes of getting the East’s second spot with a 105-95 victory over the Magic on Friday night. Orlando trails Boston by two games with three to play… David Lee added 20 points and 16 rebounds to help the Knicks avoid a season sweep by the Magic, who won the first three games against New York. New York played its most inspired game against Orlando this season, only it came too late… Hedo Turkoglu scored 24, and Dwight Howard had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando. With Boston owning the tiebreaker, the Magic would need to win all their remaining games and hope the Celtics go 0-3 to finish second.
Butler, Wizards edge Raptors 100-98
The AP reports: Washington Wizards coach Ed Tapscott wanted to give Caron Butler a breather in the fourth quarter. Butler had other plans. Butler made a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to give Washington a 100-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Butler added 21 points for the Wizards, who nearly blew a six-point lead in the final minute… Bosh had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, and Kapono added 20. Calderon had 15 points and 11 assists… Brendan Haywood had 15 points, five blocks and nine rebounds for the Wizards, with Dominic McGuire adding eight points and 11 rebounds.
Hawks clinch fourth in East with win over Indiana
The AP reports: Josh Smith scored 30 points and Joe Johnson had 24 to help the Hawks clinch the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 122-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Al Horford finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Hawks earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta needed either a win or a loss by Miami, which fell by seven in Boston, to wrap up the No. 4 spot… Danny Granger had 35 points to lead the Pacers in scoring for the eighth straight game. Jarrett Jack, who finished with 17, matched Indiana’s biggest lead at seven midway through the third, but the Hawks never trailed after Johnson hit two free throws to make it 76-74 with 4:04 left in the quarter.
Celtics go to wire before beating Heat 105-98
The AP reports: Paul Pierce spent part of the week looking over the schedule, counting the missed opportunities that cost the Celtics a chance to repeat as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. There was a loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Another to the Trail Blazers when Brandon Roy was out… Pierce scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half, including the go-ahead free throws with 97 seconds left to help the Celtics earn their sixth straight win… Rajon Rondo had seven points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for Boston, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 22 points with eight rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half, adding nine assists, to help the Heat tie it 95-all with just under 2 minutes left. But Boston scored the next eight points to pull away.
Cavaliers beat 76ers to clinch No. 1 spot in East
The AP reports: LeBron James had 27 points and 10 assists, Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 18 and the Cavaliers beat the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 102-92 Friday night to clinch home-court advantage in the Eastern conference playoffs… Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 26. The Sixers (40-39) have lost four straight since clinching a playoff berth. They remained one game behind Miami for fifth place in the East… Andre Miller and Lou Williams each scored 17 for Philadelphia, and Mo Williams had 18 for the Cavs.
Marvin Williams returns for Hawks
Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams, who has missed the last 16 games with a back injury, is expected to dress tonight against Indiana.
Guard Acie Law is out with a low back spasm, and forward Maurice Evans will miss tonight game because of a death in his family.
Nuggets re-assign Sonny Weems to D-League
The Denver Nuggets have re-assigned G/F Sonny Weems to the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.
Weems, 6-6, 203, has averaged 1.6 ppg in 12 games with the Nuggets this season. In two previous stints with the 14ers this season, Weems has averaged 20.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.05 spg in 19 outings. His second stint was highlighted by several big games, including a 36 point (15-22 FG), nine rebound outburst at Erie on March 27.
This assignment marks the 44th player assignment to the NBA Development League this season and the Nuggets’ fourth to the 14ers in 2008-09.
Weems was acquired by Denver in a draft-night trade with the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a 2009 second round draft pick.