A roundup of Monday’s NBA games.
MIAMI — Paul George scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook got his 25th triple-double of the season and the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched a playoff spot with a 115-93 win over the Miami Heat on Monday night. 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.
The 27-point margin was the third-worst for any quarter in Heat history, and the worst ever in a game at Miami.
CAVALIERS 123, KNICKS 109
In New York, LeBron James had 26 points and 11 assists, Kevin Love scored 28 points, and the Cavaliers got their 50th win and another Central Division title by beating the Knicks.
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.
SPURS 98, KINGS 85
In San Antonio, Texas, Rudy Gay scored 18 points, Manu Ginobili had 17 and the Spurs rallied late to beat the Kings and clinch their 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.
RAPTORS 108, PISTONS 98
In Detroit, Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points, and the Raptors scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter before holding on for a victory over the Pistons.
Detroit was without injured stars Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin for its home finale, but the Pistons still led by 17 in the first half. The margin was only three, however, at halftime, and Detroit managed only 38 points over the final two quarters.
Detroit is out of playoff contention, and Toronto had already wrapped up the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors played without Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka.
NETS 114, BULLS 105
In New York, Allen Crabbe scored 20 of his career-high 41 points in the first quarter and the Nets beat the Bulls for their 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.
TIMBERWOLVES 113, GRIZZLIES 94
In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns slammed his way to 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who toughed out a victory over the Grizzlies to move one step closer to a long-sought spot in the playoffs. The Wolves entered the evening with more than just payback on the agenda. They had the opportunity to secure their first appearance in the playoffs since Kevin Garnett was patrolling the post with Latrell Sprewell as a wing man and Sam Cassell running the offense in 2004.
BUCKS 102, MAGIC 86
In Milwaukee, Shabazz Muhammad scored a season-high 22 points and helped spark a key third-quarter run, Eric Bledsoe had a tripledouble and the Bucks beat the Magic.
The Bucks leapfrogged Miami for sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Heat lost to Oklahoma City on Monday.
PELICANS 113, CLIPPERS 100
In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis scored 28 points, Nikola Mirotic had a double-double and the Pelicans beat the Clippers to clinch their first playoff berth in three years.
Mirotic had 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Pelicans’ fourth straight victory. It will be just their second playoff appearance in seven years and they made it without big man DeMarcus Cousins, who sustained a season-ending Achilles injury on Jan. 28.
NUGGETS 88, TRAIL BLAZERS 82
In Denver, Nikola Jokic posted his 10th tripledouble of the season and the Nuggets kept their playoff hopes alive by rallying past the Trail Blazers.
The Nuggets have won a season-high six straight games and a seventh, on Wednesday night in Minnesota, would clinch their first playoff berth since 2012-13.