? Bulls close regular season with ninth straight victory
? San Antonio Spurs lose 106-103 to the Phoenix Suns
Kyle Korver scored 19 points as the Chicago Bulls closed the regular season with their ninth straight victory, beating the New Jersey Nets 97-92. The Bulls had to wait for San Antonio's result to see who would be seeded No1 for the play-offs ? with the Spurs' loss to Phoenix earning them home-court advantage.
Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Bulls finish 62-20, equalling their best showing since the 1997-98 championship season. They begin their play-off campaign against the Indiana Pacers.
Suns 106, Spurs 103
Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 13 rebounds as Phoenix denied San Antonio their chance to secure home-court advantage throughout the play-offs. The Spurs, who at 61-21 finished a game behind Chicago for the best record in the NBA, lost Manu Ginobili to injury early in the game. San Antonio will open against Memphis in the play-offs.
Lakers 116, Kings 108, OT
Lakers star Kobe Bryant scored 36 points and forced overtime with a tying three-pointer with 4.8 seconds left in regulation, as the Kings lost what might be their last game in Sacramento. A standing-room only crowd packed the 17,317-seat capacity arena, clanking cow bells and roaring louder than they had in years. With the team mulling a move to Anaheim, fans brought handmade signs and cheered their loudest to will the team back. Instead, the Lakers pulled away in overtime to take the No2 seed in the Western Conference, setting up a first-round series against New Orleans. Marcus Thornton had 33 points and Tyreke Evans added 16 for the Kings.
Heat 97, Raptors 79
Eddie House scored a career-high 35 points and Juwan Howard added 18 as Miami beat Toronto. With the Heat assured of the second seed in the East, Miami's coach, Erik Spoelstra, rested LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Miami will host Philadelphia in its post-season opener. House's previous career best was 31, set against Utah on 18 November 2005. He was seven of 13 from three-point range. The Heat have won four straight and 15 of 18 heading into the play-offs. Jerryd Bayless scored 21 points for Toronto.
Celtics 112, Knicks 102
At Boston, Avery Bradley scored a career-high 20 points to help Boston's "B'' team beat New York's second string. Glen "Big Baby" Davis had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Sasha Pavlovic added a season-high 19 points as the Celtics ended a two-game losing streak. Amare Stoudemire played 20 minutes and scored 14 points for New York.
Magic 92, Pacers 74
Ryan Anderson scored 14 points, and Dwight Howard had 13 points and 13 rebounds in a short night in Orlando's victory over Indiana. Mike Dunleavy and Brandon Rush both scored 16 points for Indiana. The Pacers will open their first play-off series in five years against top-seeded Chicago, while the Magic will host Atlanta in a match-up of the fourth and fifth seeds.
Clippers 110, Grizzlies 103
Blake Griffin had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the 82nd and final game of his spectacular rookie season for Los Angeles. Griffin sat out all 82 games last season after hurting his knee in the final pre-season game and having surgery. He was the only player to appear in every game this season when injuries plagued the team. Eric Gordon added 24 points and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles. The Clippers finished 32-50 to miss the playoffs again.
Mavericks 121, Hornets 89
Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 of his 32 points in the decisive third quarter, leading Dallas past New Orleans. Dallas wound up No 3 in the Western Conference and will face Portland in the opening round. New Orleans hung on to the seventh spot because Memphis also lost. The Hornets will face the Lakers. Jarrett Jack led New Orleans with 22 points.
Warriors 110, Trail Blazers 86
Reggie Williams scored 28 points, and Stephen Curry had 18 points and nine assists in Golden State's victory over Portland. Dorell Wright had 20 points to cap a breakout season for the veteran forward and David Lee added 13 points for the Warriors. Patty Mills had a career-high 23 points and Wesley Matthews added 18 points for Portland, which already had secured the No6 seed in the Western Conference.
Bucks 110, Thunder 106, OT
Brandon Jennings scored 16 points as Milwaukee beat Oklahoma City. Jennings outscored the Thunder 8-2 in the final 2:21, hitting the go-ahead reverse layup with 56.8 seconds left and then hitting two free throws to put the game away. Russell Westbrook scored 20 points and Kevin Durant added 14 in a season-low 23 minutes as the Thunder gave their starters a lightened load with the playoffs looming. Oklahoma City will be the No4 seed in the Western Conference and open against Denver.
Jazz 107, Nuggets 103
At Salt Lake City, rookie Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 34 points and hit five three-pointers to lift Utah past play-off-bound Denver. The game meant little to the Nuggets, who already had secured the Western Conference's No5 seed and rested many of their players. Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 27 points.
Bobcats 96, Hawks 85
Gerald Henderson scored 20 points, and DJ Augustin added 17 points and seven assists as Charlotte sent Atlanta into the play-offs on a six-game losing streak. With no starter playing more than 25 minutes and only Kirk Hinrich (10 points) scoring in double figures, the coach, Larry Drew, earned the Hawks rest, but no momentum heading into their first-round game at Orlando.
Pistons 104, 76ers 100
Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points, and Tayshaun Prince had 14 to help Detroit hand play-off-bound Philadelphia its fifth loss in six games. Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with 21 points. They will open the play-offs against Miami.
Cavaliers 100, Wizards 93
At Cleveland, Ramon Sessions scored 27 points and JJ Hickson added 15 as Cleveland closed out one of the worst seasons in franchise history and the first in eight years without LeBron James. The Cavs finished 19-63, an extreme drop after going a league-best 61-21 during the regular season in 2010. Andray Blatche scored 20 for Washington.
Rockets 121, Timberwolves 102
At Minneapolis, Chase Budinger scored a career-high 35 points and Kevin Martin added 25 for Houston. Michael Beasley scored 34 points and Anthony Randolph had 23 for Minnesota. The Timberwolves lost their last 15 games of the season to finish with the worst record in the NBA at 15-65.
Ashley Olsen Danneel Harris Veronika Vaeková Eve Brittany Lee
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