Grizzlies clinch 7th seed in West with easy victory

Mike Conley scored 31 points and the host Memphis Grizzlies clinched the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference with a 101-88 victory Friday night against the New York Knicks, who played without Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

Conley was 12 of 17 from the field, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range, to lead six Grizzlies in double figures as Memphis snapped a threegame losing streak. The Grizzlies will face the secondseeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.

Other games

Hawks 114, Cavaliers 100: Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Atlanta, despite resting center Dwight Howard and missing three key starters, stunned Cleveland, which blew a chance to move closer to securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Raptors 96, Heat 94: DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points and Toronto beat Miami in its final home game of the regular season. DeRozan broke Vince Carter’s franchise record with his 31st 30-point game of the season. Carter set the mark in 200001.

Pistons 114, Rockets 109: Stanley Johnson hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 32.4 seconds left and added two free throws to lift visiting Detroit past Houston.

Spurs 109, Mavericks 89: Bryn Forbes scored a career-high 27 points with San Antonio resting most of its starters, and the Spurs ran past host Dallas.

Nuggets 122, Pelicans 106: Jamal Murray scored 30 points and host Denver beat New Orleans.

Jazz 120, Timberwolves 113: Gordan Hayward poured in 39 points as host Utah topped Minnesota.

Notes

Golden State’s Kevin Durant returned to practice and is set to play Saturday against New Orleans after experiencing no problems with his injured knee. Durant has been out since he was hurt Feb. 28 at Washington. ... Commissioner Adam Silver said the league has not discussed shortening the season, though he hopes other steps can help teams wanting to rest healthy players. He would like teams to avoid resting players for national TV games, and if teams feel they must rest healthy players, he would prefer they do so for home games. ... Charlotte will be eligible to be the host of the 2019 All-Star Game after a compromise to replace a North Carolina law that limited anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people. ... Thabo Sefolosha of Atlanta said he’ll donate a “substantial portion” of his $4 million settlement with New York after a police fracas outside a trendy Manhattan nightclub left him with a broken leg in 2015.