HORNETS STING DALLAS AGAIN
The Dallas Mavericks’ postseason hopes could be slipping away.
Hornets 110, Mavericks 104
The Charlotte Hornets overcame a 40-point outing from Luka Doncic on Sunday to defeat visiting Dallas 110104, their second win over the Mavericks in three days — dealing another blow to Dallas’ playoff hopes.
Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and P.J. Washington had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the injuryplagued Hornets, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Mavericks (36-39) entered the day tied with Oklahoma City for the 10th-best record in the Western Conference but were still outside of the play-in tournament bubble because the Thunder hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“It’s unfortunate that we let these two games go and we have to figure out a way to stop the bleeding,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, adding that he wasn’t pleased with the team’s defensive effort.
Kyrie Irving had 18 points for Dallas, which fell to 7-13 since the point guard was acquired in a trade.
Timberwolves 99, Warriors 96: Karl-Anthony Towns hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play after Kyle Anderson stole a pass by Draymond Green, and visiting Minnesota held off the Golden State.
The Warriors had a chance with 9.9 seconds left but Stephen Curry couldn’t corral Jordan Poole’s errant pass, then Curry missed a contested 3 from the baseline just before the final buzzer.
Cavaliers 108, Rockets 91: Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 and host Cleveland beat Houston to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.
It’s also the first time Cleveland has made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1998.
Grizzlies 123, Hawks 119: Ja Morant scored 27 points in his return to the Memphis starting lineup and the visiting Grizzlies held off Atlanta for their sixth consecutive win.
Desmond Bane added 25 points for Memphis, twice delivering fourth-quarter baskets after the Hawks pulled within one.
Celtics 137, Spurs 93: Jaylen Brown scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead host Boston over San Antonio.
The Celtics were without star forward and leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who was sidelined with a bruised left hip. But they still moved within 1½ games of Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference’s best record with their seventh victory in nine games.
Raptors 114, Wizards 104: O.G. Anunoby scored 29 points, Fred VanVleet had 28 and Toronto never trailed in a win over visiting Washington.
Ninth-place Toronto maintained a three-game lead over 11th-place Washington in the Eastern Conference standings.
Magic 119, Nets 106: Cole Anthony had 21 points to lead eight Orlando scorers in double figures, and the Magic overcame Mikal Bridges’ 44 points in a victory over visiting Brooklyn.
Bridges came up one point short of his career high. Cam Thomas added 18 points for the Nets, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Thunder 118, Trail Blazers 112: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Oklahoma City won at Portland.
Jalen Williams had 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 20 off the bench for the Thunder (37-38), who moved into a tie for ninth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Saturday’s late results
Suns 125, 76ers 105: Devin Booker scored 29 points, Bismack Biyombo added 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, and host Phoenix snapped a three-game losing streak.
Kings 121, Jazz 113: Kevin Huerter scored a team-high 27 points and Sacramento beat visiting Utah. Domantas Sabonis finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for his NBA-leading 60th double-double of the season.
Pelicans 131, Clippers 110: Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III had 32 points apiece as visiting New Orleans routed Los Angeles.