Ellington, Miami go deep in ‘W’
Wayne Ellington scored a career-high 32 points and set a franchise single-season record for 3-pointers, helping the Heat wrap up the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Toronto Raptors, 116-109, in overtime last night in Miami.
Ellington finished with eight 3-pointers, giving him 227 for the season. He topped the mark set by Damon Jones, who made 225 in 2004-05.
Kelly Olynyk, Dwyane Wade, Justise Winslow, James Johnson and Tyler Johnson each scored 11 points for the Heat, who open the playoffs at No. 3 Philadelphia this weekend.
76ers 130, Bucks 95 — Joel Embiid and JJ Redick watched from the bench, Ben Simmons had a scoreless first half and host Philadelphia still won its 16th consecu- tive game, thumping Milwaukee to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Markelle Fultz had his first career triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Justin Anderson led the Sixers with 25 points and Dario Saric had 24.
Timberwolves 112, Nuggets 106 — Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 14 rebounds and Minnesota ended the NBA’s longest-running playoff drought, beating Denver in Minneapolis in overtime in the first final-day play-in game in the league in 21 years.
When the final horn blew, the capacity and white-towel-waving crowd at Target Center stood to soak in Minnesota’s first postseason appearance since 2004. Butler flashed a smile of relief as he hugged his teammates and confetti fluttered above the floor. The fans chanted “MVP! “MVP!” as Butler conducted a postgame interview.
Pelicans 122, Spurs 98 — Anthony Davis had 22 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and three steals, and host New Orleans assured itself no worse than the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a victory over San Antonio.
Rajon Rondo had 19 points and 14 assists, Nikola Mirotic had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday added 19 points for the Pelicans, led by double-digits throughout the second half, with their largest lead topping out at 25.
Thunder 137, Grizzlies 123 — Paul George scored 40 points, Russell Westbrook clinched a triple-double average for the second straight season and host Oklahoma City defeated Memphis.
Knicks 110, Cavaliers 98 — LeBron James played in his 82nd game, scored 10 points and then got some rest for the playoffs as host Cleveland was beaten by New York in the regular-season finale and coach Jeff Hornacek’s likely last game with the Knicks.
James had never played every game in his 15-year NBA career. But he capped a remarkable season in which he seemed to break a record every night by adding another accomplishment to his long list of achievements.
Magic 101, Wizards 92 — Washington went cold in the fourth quarter of its regular-season finale, losing to host Orlando and finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference playoff seeding.
Pistons 119, Bulls 87 — Rookie Luke Kennard scored a career-high 23 points and Eric Moreland set career bests with 16 points and 17 rebounds as Detroit closed the season with a rout of host Chicago.