LeBron James stars with 34 points
LOS ANGELES: The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a threegame skid on Friday, but the Boston Celtics’ own narrow victory maintained their slender lead over the reigning NBA champion Cavs atop the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs will have hoped to put a miserable march in the rear-view mirror with their 122-105 victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers.
LeBron James scored 34 points, Kyrie Irving added 24 and Kevin Love contributed 18 in the victory, which followed on the heels of a threegame losing streak.
The Cavs had lost three straight, and five of their previous seven going into the contest, but Irving said the turnaround, with the playoffs a fortnight away, was under way.
The Cavs struggles opened the door for the Celtics, and they have seized their opportunity.
Two free throws from Al Horford with 1:22 remaining proved the difference in Boston’s 117-116 victory over the Orlando Magic, which kept them one-half game ahead of the Cavs atop the East.
The Celtics’ 15th win in their last 17 home games was not certain until Amir Johnson contested Elfrid Payton’s drive in the closing minutes. Payton missed, and Horford grabbed the rebound.
CELTICS 117, MAGIC 116: Isaiah Thomas scored 35 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Orlando Magic to maintain their slim lead over Cleveland atop the Eastern Conference.
Boston’s Al Horford made two free throws with 1:22 left for a one-point lead, and then Orlando missed three shots down the stretch, including a driving layup attempt by Elfrid Payton with two seconds left.
The Celtics (49-27) entered with a half-game lead over the Cavaliers, who won easily against Philadelphia to preserve that margin.
WARRIORS 107, ROCKETS 98: Stephen Curry scored 24 points, Klay Thompson had 20 and the Golden State Warriors got key plays down the stretch from just about everybody, using a big fourth quarter to hold off the Houston Rockets.
Andre Iguodala’s left-handed drive and layup tied it with 7:07 remaining and he finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Ian Clark hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:58 to play before Matt Barnes delivered a clutch basket in a game with a playoff feel.
PELICANS 117, KINGS 89: DeMarcus Cousins had 37 points and 13 rebounds in his first game against the Kings, and the New Orleans Pelicans routed Sacramento.
Cousins had downplayed his first meeting with the team that drafted him in 2010 and traded him away this February, but his play looked inspired. He tied a career-high with five 3-pointers and executed a tricky, crowd-pleasing, cross-court bounce pass during a fast break.
SPURS 100, THUNDER 95: Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points, and the San Antonio Spurs rallied from 21 points down in the third quarter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Spurs never led until the final minute. LaMarcus Aldridge’s dunk with 20.7 seconds left put the Spurs up 96-95. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook drove to the hoop, but Aldridge blocked his shot. Leonard then drove the length of the floor, scored and was fouled. His free throw with 5.8 seconds left put the game out of reach.
GRIZZLIES 99, MAVERICKS 90: Mike Conley scored 28 points, Zach Randolph added 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies clinched a playoff spot with a 99-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Memphis’ win, coupled with Denver’s loss at Charlotte earlier Friday night, earned the Grizzlies their seventh straight postseason berth.
HORNETS 122, NUGGETS 114: Kemba Walker had 31 points, and the Marco Belinelli and Frank Kaminsky took over in the fourth quarter as the Charlotte Hornets preserved their slim playoff hopes with a win over the Denver Nuggets.
The Hornets shot 17 for 26 on 3-pointers, including 7 for 12 in the fourth quarter.
RAPTORS 111, PACERS 100: DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points and the Toronto Raptors rolled to their seventh straight home win over the Indiana Pacers.
DeRozan was 11 of 26 from the floor to register his 30th game of 30 points or more this season, tying Vince Carter’s 2000-01 franchise mark. It was also DeRozan’s sixth 40-point game of the season.
KNICKS 98, HEAT 94: Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points, Courtney Lee added 20 and the New York Knicks led nearly the entire way in beating the Miami Heat.
Justin Holiday scored 12 for the Knicks, who played without Carmelo Anthony (back), Derrick Rose (knee) and Lance Thomas (hip). It was only the fourth win in the last 15 games for New York.
JAZZ 95, WIZARDS 88: Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Gordon Hayward scored 19 points and the Utah Jazz beat the Washington Wizards.
The teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter. There were six ties, and neither team led by more than four until the final 33 seconds.