Hawks overcome Flynn’s 50-point performance
Celtics secure league’s best record with win over OKC
ATLANTA — Jalen Johnson had 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his first career triple-double and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 50-point effort by Detroit’s Malachi Flynn for a 121-113 win over the Pistons on Wednesday night that clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
De’Andre Hunter scored 26 points and Dejounte Murray finished with 24 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, who have won six of their last seven games.
Flynn, who was averaging 4.6 points per game this season and whose previous career high was 27, was 18 for 25 from the floor and 9 for 12 at the line. The 50 points was a franchise record for a reserve. The former San Diego State Aztec also had a season-high six rebounds, five assists and five steals in 34 minutes.
The Pistons have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
CELTICS 135, THUNDER 100: In Boston, Kristaps Porzingis had 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, powering Boston over Oklahoma City to to secure the best record in the NBA and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points and Jaylen Brown added 23 points and seven rebounds for Boston, which won its 11th consecutive home game and improved to 60-16 on the season.
NETS 115, PACERS 111: In New York, Cam Thomas scored 27 points, rookie Noah Clowney had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Brooklyn outlasted Indiana.
The Nets were eliminated from postseason contention when Atlanta beat Detroit at home to wrap up at least a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Brooklyn last missed the playoffs in 2017-18.
Mikal Bridges added 17 points, and Nic Claxton had 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Nets had lost their previous two games, the last a 133-111 loss in Indianapolis on Monday night.
TIMBERWOLVES 133, RAPTORS 85: In Minneapolis, Anthony Edwards scored 28 points, Naz Reid added 23 and Minnesota routed Toronto to move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference.
Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota, whose 48-point win marked its largest margin of victory this season. The 48-point loss was the largest in Raptors franchise history.
Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick and Javon Freeman-Liberty all had 16 points for Toronto, which has lost 15 straight.
TRAIL BLAZERS 89, HORNETS 86: In Charlotte, N.C., Scoot Henderson had 22 points and 10 assists and Portland beat Charlotte and Brandon Miller in a matchup of two of the league’s top three draft picks.
Henderson, the third overall pick, shot 9 of 17 from the field as the Trail Blazers snapped a 10-game losing streak. Deandre Ayton had a monster game against the Hornets with 24 points and 16 rebounds and Jabari Walker had 14 points and 22 rebounds.
With Charlotte’s two 7-foot centers out, the Blazers held a 55-36 edge on the glass.
Miller finished with 21 points to lead the Hornets, but struggled from long range finishing 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Charlotte shot 5 of 31 from beyond the arc just hours after Steve Clifford announced that he is stepping down as head coach after the season.
LAKERS 125, WIZARDS 120: In Washington, Anthony Davis scored 19 of his 35 points in the first quarter and had 18 rebounds, helping Los Angeles beat Washington for its eighth victory in nine games.
LeBron James had 25 points and nine assists, and Rui Hachimura scored 19 points for the Lakers against his former team. Davis was 10 of 17 from the field and made 15 free throws without a miss. Jordan Poole led Washington with 29.
The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference, meaning they’d have to win twice in the play-in tournament to make the main playoff bracket. But they’re making a push to move up. Los Angeles trailed Phoenix and Sacramento by 1½ games entering Wednesday.
MAGIC 117, PELICANS 108: In New Orleans, Paolo Banchero scored 32 points and Orlando defeated New Orleans. Franz Wagner scored 24 points and Moritz Wagner added 18 points for the Magic, who’ve won three straight and moved a half game ahead of the idle New York Knicks for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
CJ McCollum had 36 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which has lost three straight and four of five, slipping from fourth to sixth in the Western Conference, just half a game in front of seventh-place Sacramento.
GRIZZLIES 111, BUCKS 101: In Milwaukee, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 35 points to lead Memphis over Milwaukee.
The Bucks lost for the fourth time in their past five games as they’ve faltered while trying to hold on to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jackson dominated in the second half, scoring 25 of his points while lifting the Grizzlies to their fifth straight victory over Milwaukee.
CLIFFORD STEPPING DOWN: In Charlotte, N.C., Steve Clifford said the grind of an 82-game season became too much — and the losing didn’t help, either.
So Clifford informed the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday that he is stepping down as head coach after the season. He plans to stay on in an advisory role, with the details still being worked out.
Clifford said he wasn’t forced out by management and it was his decision to leave.
“You need a certain energy level to get through 82 games,” Clifford told The Associated Press. “This year was really tough to get through.”
It doesn’t help that the Hornets are 18-57 this season and just 45-112 over the past two seasons under Clifford.