Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 48 points, Dante Exum hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime, and the Dallas Mavericks rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 147-136 on Sunday. I won.
Luka Doncic had 37 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and the Mavericks took another step towards the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
For the Rockets, Dillon Brooks had a season-high 29 points and Fred VanVleet had 24 points and 12 assists, but they were outclassed until three minutes left in regulation and were eliminated from postseason contention.
Houston had been on an 11-game winning streak, tied for the longest in the NBA this season, but now has lost five in a row.
With 8.3 seconds left in regulation and Houston leading by three points, Jabari Smith Jr. missed two free throws. Dallas' timeout expired and Exum ran up the court and passed to Doncic. The Dallas superstar dribbled his way toward midcourt, faked a shot, then passed to Exum, who beat the buzzer for Smith in the third over.
Irving, who scored 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, made two free throws in overtime to give Dallas the lead for good, 133-131.
Clippers 120, Cavaliers 118
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 23 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, James Harden added 22 and Los Angeles rallied to beat Cleveland for its 50th victory.
Los Angeles overcame a 26-point deficit to achieve the third largest come-from-behind victory in franchise history.
Terrence Mann hit a game-tying 3-pointer and Amir Coffey hit a game-tying 3-pointer to give the Clippers their first lead since late in the first quarter, 118-115.
Jarrett Allen hit a three-point play to tie the score at 118. After a timeout, George made a jumper with seven seconds left for a 120-118 lead.
Darius Garland drove the lane and was blocked by Paul, but the Cavaliers grabbed the offensive rebound. Max Strus took a desperate shot from the right corner, but it missed as time expired and fell next to the Clippers bench.
The Clippers reached the 50-win mark for the first time since winning 51 games in the 2016-17 season.
Celtics 124, Trail Blazers 107
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 26 points to reach 10,000 points in his NBA career and lead Boston past Portland for its 13th straight home win.
Kristaps Porzingis recorded 12 points and 10 boards in just 27 minutes for NBA-leading Boston, achieving his third consecutive double-double.
Peyton Pritchard scored 20 points, Derrick White 15 points and Jrue Holiday 12 points for the Celtics, who have won 14 of their 16 games overall.
Dalano Banton scored 28 points and Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Portland. Jabari Walker added 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who finished 2-5 on the road in seven games.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum was sidelined with a right knee contusion. This was the sixth game missed for the team's leading scorer (27.0 points per game).
Pacers 117, Heat 115
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Myles Turner had 22 points and 13 rebounds, TJ McConnell added 22 points and Indiana hung on to strengthen its playoff chances with a win over Miami.
Pacers won 4 of 5 games They took a 1.5 game lead over the Heat, clinching the Eastern Conference's sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot.
Jimmy Butler of the Heat had 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Tyler Herro scored 21 points, but Kevin Love's free throw was canceled due to a lane violation with 3.6 seconds left, leaving the Heat down two points.
Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin each had 20 points and Adebayo had 12 rebounds for Miami, which suffered its second loss in six games as it tries to avoid staying in the league's play-in tournament.
Indiana never trailed in the final 45 1/2 minutes, but Miami certainly made things difficult down the stretch. The Heat cut the deficit to one point twice in the final 3 1/2 minutes, but the Pacers responded on both occasions on a festive day for Pacers fans.
Thunder 121, Hornets 118
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Josh Guidi had 20 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds for his 11th career triple-double, and Isaiah Joe made two crucial 3-pointers in the final 1:30. He scored three points and Oklahoma City beat Charlotte. Losing consecutive games.
The Thunder have lost their last three games, their longest losing streak of the season, with stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams out with injuries.
However, Aaron Wiggins scored 26 points, Chet Holmgren had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Miller missed a 3-point shot that would have sent overtime, leading to the Thunder's victory. I got it.
For the Hornets, Grant Williams had 19 points and Vasa Micic had 17 points and 10 assists.
Oklahoma City entered the game in third place in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games behind first place Denver.
Magic 113, Bulls 98
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 24 points and Jalen Suggs added 19 points for Orlando, which remains in the playoffs and could move into second place in the Eastern Conference with a win over Chicago.
The Magic (46-32) defeated the Bulls for the fourth time in a row and moved into at least a tie for third place in the East.
DeMar DeRozan had 30 points for the Bulls, and Javonte Green, who started for the first time this season in place of injured forward Alex Caruso, had 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Bulls, locked in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference play-in bracket with four games remaining, shot 50.7 percent from the field but committed 21 turnovers.
Green, who spent most of the season in the G League, scored a career-high 25 points on Friday night against New York, going 6-of-7 from the field in 22 minutes.
Pelicans 113, Suns 105
PHOENIX (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 31 points, Zion Williamson added 29 points and New Orleans beat Phoenix, clinching the last guaranteed spot in the Western Conference playoffs for sixth place. .
Both teams have 46 wins and 32 losses with four games remaining, two games behind fifth place Dallas. The Suns won the season series 2-1 and won the tiebreaker.
Williamson, who missed Friday night's loss to San Antonio with a finger injury, had 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Pelicans snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 25-14 on the road. The next three games will also be played on the road, with the team facing the Los Angeles Lakers at home next Sunday.
Phoenix's Devin Booker scored 25 points but was 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. He has scored 50 points or more in the last three games against the Pelicans, including a 52-point game Monday night in New Orleans.
Bradley Beal led Phoenix with 33 points, making 7 of 8 3-pointers, while the rest of the Suns combined for 7. Kevin Durant had 23 points, Grayson Allen had 11 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 10 rebounds.
Knicks 122, Bucks 109
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and a second-half surge led New York to victory, snapping Milwaukee's fourth straight loss.
The Bucks are facing their longest losing streak of the season, dropping six of their past seven games. Milwaukee is one game ahead of the Knicks and Orlando Magic for the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs behind the Boston Celtics.
At least this loss was given to a team with a winning record. The Bucks' current slump began with losses to the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, and Toronto Raptors, all of whom were well below .500.
Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the Bucks' 117-111 loss to the Raptors on Friday due to a left hamstring issue, but returned and had 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. This will be the fourth time in the last 29 games that the Bucks' top three players (Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton) have been together.
Kings 107, Nets 77
NEW YORK (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 20 rebounds, extending his double-double streak to 61 games as Sacramento defeated Brooklyn.
De'Aaron Fox scored 20 points for the Kings, who improved to 45 wins and 33 losses, ending a two-game slump that had seen them fall to ninth place in the Western Conference.
Sabonis has the seventh-longest double-double streak in NBA history, surpassing Elvin Hayes' 60 consecutive double-doubles from October 30, 1968 to February 22, 1969.
Keegan Murray added 19 points for the Kings, Trey Lyles had 14 points and Davion Mitchell had 12 points off the bench.
Cam Thomas scored 21 points for the Nets, who are on a two-game winning streak. Trendon Watford finished with 16 points and Jalen Wilson had 11 points.
76ERS 133, Spurs 126, 2OT
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 52 points and injured Philadelphia defeated Victor Wembaneyama and San Antonio twice in overtime to win their fifth straight game.
Wenbanyama had 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks.
Philadelphia star Joel Embiid missed the second night of back-to-back games. He was playing in his third consecutive game after missing 29 games due to a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Maxey reached 50 or more points for the third time this season, joining Embiid, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in franchise history to accomplish this feat.
Maxey scored 50 points against Indiana on November 12th and 51 points against Utah on February 1st. On Sunday, he was 19-of-41 from the field, 2-of-10 from 3-point range and 10 from free throws.
After San Antonio took a 126-123 lead, the 76ers finished the game on a 10-0 run.
Warriors 118, Jazz 110
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 32 points and Golden State escaped Utah early to win.
Although Houston lost to Dallas 147-136 in overtime, the Warriors at least qualified for the four-team play-in tournament.
Thompson came in looking for a shot to handle most of the scoring load from the opening tip on a night when Stephen Curry was out due to rest and Chris Paul started in his place.
Manager Steve Kerr used his 26th starting combination this season. The hiatus gave Curry several days between games. He has already played in 71 games, the most since the 2016-17 season.
Reserve Johnny Juzang hit seven threes and scored a career-high 27 points, leading the Jazz to their 12th straight loss and 15th in 16 years. The Jazz haven't won at Golden State since Feb. 9, 2022. Keyontae George added 25 points.
Timberwolves 127, Lakers 117
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Naz Reid scored 31 points while hitting six 3-pointers and Minnesota took advantage of LeBron James' absence and Anthony Davis' early exit with an eye injury to beat Los Angeles. .
Anthony Edwards added 26 points for the Timberwolves, who finished level with Denver for the top spot in the Western Conference with a 54-24 record, their seventh win in nine games. Minnesota didn't waste a golden opportunity to defeat the surging Lakers, who played most of the night without their two superstars.
James missed 11 games of the 21st NBA season after staying home with flu-like symptoms. Davis then returned to the locker room after being hit in the face by Kyle Anderson while making a tip-in basket late in the first quarter.
The nine-time All-Star did not return to the game. Davis' left eye was already injured from the impact he suffered in last month's game against Golden State.
Minnesota broke up a close game without Davis patrolling the midfield, scoring 46 points in the second quarter. Los Angeles' supporters kept it close until the third quarter, but Rudy Gobert scored six of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Minnesota easily held on. Gobert also had 16 rebounds.
Raptors 130, Wizards 122
TORONTO (AP) – Immanuel Quickley had a season-high 31 points and 13 assists, RJ Barrett scored 22 points and Toronto defeated Washington, handing the struggling Wizards their franchise-worst 64th loss of the season.
Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 20 points for the Raptors, who ended their home losing streak at eight games and won for the first time since winning three straight from February 22-26.
Quickley went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line for the Raptors, who ended their losing streak at 15 with a 117-111 win over Milwaukee on Thursday.
For Washington, Deni Avdija had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Poole had 20 points and 12 assists. Corey Kispert scored 21 points and Patrick Baldwin had a season-best 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, but the Wizards lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Washington also lost 63 games in the 2000-01 and 2008-09 seasons. The Wizards have three games left.
