Cavaliers top Knicks, win Central
LeBron James had 26 points and 11 assists, Kevin Love scored 28 points, and the Cavaliers earned their 50th win and another Central Division title by beating the New York Knicks, 123-109, last night in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers pulled within a half-game of Philadelphia for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference, bouncing back from their loss to the 76ers on Friday and winning for the sixth time in seven games.
They reached 50 wins for the fourth time in four seasons since James returned from Miami and the 11th time in franchise history.
J.R. Smith and Jordan Clarkson added 16 points apiece for the Cavaliers, who made 19 3-pointers and won for the ninth straight time at Madison Square Garden.
Michael Beasley scored 20 points for the Knicks in their final home game of the season, which opened a home-andhome series. Rookie Frank Ntilikina added a career-high 17 and Courtney Lee also had 17.
The Knicks remained without injured starters Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter.
Raptors 108, Pistons 98 — Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points, and the Raptors scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter before holding on for a victory in Detroit.
The Pistons were without injured stars Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin for their home finale, but they still led by 17 in the first half. The margin was only three, however, at halftime, and Detroit managed only 38 points during the final two quarters.
Thunder 115, Heat 93 — Paul George scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook recorded his 25th triple-double of the season and Oklahoma City clinched a playoff spot by winning in Miami.
Westbrook finished with 23 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for the Thunder, who were down 18 in the opening minutes before outscoring the Heat 39-12 in the fourth.
Spurs 98, Kings 85 — Rudy Gay scored 18 points, Manu Ginobili had 17 and host San Antonio rallied late to beat Sacramento and clinch its 21st straight postseason appearance.
Sacramento, which was eliminated from the postseason on March 11, led by 14 points before being outscored 38-19 in the fourth quarter.
Nets 114, Bulls 105 — Allen Crabbe scored 20 of his careerhigh 41 points in the first quarter and Brooklyn beat Chicago in New York for its first three-game winning streak this season.
D’Angelo Russell had 21 points and 11 assists, and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points for the Nets, who had not won three straight since April 1-4, 2017.
Bucks 102, Magic 86 — Shabazz Muhammad scored a season-high 22 points and helped spark a key third-quarter run, Eric Bledsoe had a triple-double and host Milwaukee beat Orlando in the final regular-season game at the Bradley Center to jump up to sixth place in the East.
Malcolm Brogdon returned to the Bucks lineup after missing 30 games with a left quadriceps injury.
Timberwolves 113, Grizzlies 94 — In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns slammed his way to 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as Minnesota moved one step closer to a longsought spot in the playoffs by crushing Memphis.
Robert Pera sent a formal notice to the NBA office that he plans to buy out two minority partners and remain controlling owner of the Grizzlies.