Leonard, Aldridge help Spurs topple Knicks
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the host San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks 106-98 on Saturday night.
San Antonio has won four straight heading into home games against Cleveland on Monday and Golden State on Wednesday. The Spurs (56-16) are two games behind the Warriors (58-14) for the league’s best record.
“We’re understanding that it’s business time,” San Antonio guard Patty Mills said. “Understanding that we’ve got to make the most of those little situations. Those little errors, those little mistakes that we tend to get away with during the regular season, we can’t do that anymore.”
San Antonio ensured there would not be a repeat of its disappointing 94-90 loss in New York on Feb. 12, but not without some tense moments. Derrick Rose and Willy Hernangomez each scored 24 points for the Knicks, and Hernangomez added 13 rebounds. Mindaugas Kuzminskas had 19 points starting in place of Carmelo Anthony, who missed his second straight game with a sore left knee.
Kristaps Porzingis had 12 points while being limited to 26 minutes due to foul trouble.
San Antonio took an 18-point lead at halftime, but New York closed the third quarter on a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 78-74. Hernangomez had nine points, including a three-point play to open the run.
Leonard and Pau Gasol responded by combining for 13 points in the final quarter to hand New York its 10th loss in 12 games.
Trail Blazers 112, T’wolves
100: CJ McCollum scored 32 points and host Portland continued its push for the playoffs, pulling a game behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Andrew Wiggins had 20 points for Minnesota, which lost its sixth consecutive game. Wizards 127, Cavaliers 115: John Wall scored 37 points — 18 in the first quarter — Bradley Beal added 27 and Washington began a challenging road trip by beating Cleveland. LeBron James, who briefly wore goggles to protect an eye injury suffered Friday night, scored 24 and added 11 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving added 23 points and Kevin Love 17 for the Cavaliers, whose Eastern Conference lead dwindled to a half-game over idle Boston.
Clippers 108, Jazz 95: Jamal Crawford scored 28 points off the bench, and host Los Angeles clinched its sixth straight playoff berth. The Clippers trail Utah by a half-game in the race for the No. 4 playoff seed in the West. Blake Griffin added 15 points and DeAndre Jordan had 15 rebounds for the Clippers. Utah’s Rudy Gobert had 26 points and 14 rebounds. Raptors 94, Mavericks 86: DeMar DeRozan and Serge Ibaka scored 18 points apiece and visiting Toronto notched its fifth straight victory. Toronto scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed in dealing Dallas’ playoff hopes a blow. Harrison Barnes scored 23 points for Dallas, which finished just 7-of-28 from behind the arc.
Noah suspended: Joakim Noah of the New York Knicks was suspended 20 games without pay for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. He tested positive for a substance found in some over-the-counter supplements, the league said. Noah (left knee injury) has not played since Feb. 4 and was likely to miss the final 10 games this season.