Ball’s 26 points leads Hornets past Magic
Hornets 128, Magic 101: Lamelo Ball had 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and host Charlotte routed short-handed Orlando on Thursday night to get back on the right track after two lopsided losses.
Terry Rozier added 22 points as Charlotte pulled within one game of the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, who are tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining in the regular season. The Hornets have already locked up a spot in the play-in tournament and are hoping to improve their seed.
Chuma Okeke had 20 points and Moritz Wagner scored 17 for Orlando, which has lost seven of its last eight games.
Raptors 119, 76ers 114: Pascal Siakam had 37 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his third career triple-double, Gary Trent Jr. scored 30 points and host Toronto beat Philadelphia.
Precious Achiuwa scored 20 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers, and Scottie Barnes had 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Raptors win for the seventh time in eight games.
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and James Harden had 13 points and 15 assists for the 76ers, whose hopes of winning the Atlantic Division title took a hit.
Bucks 127, Celtics 121: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday each scored 29 points and host Milwaukee edged short-handed Boston to take over second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bucks (50-30) scored the game’s final nine points to move a halfgame ahead of the Celtics (50-31) and a full game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (49-31), who lost 119-114 at Toronto on Thursday.
Milwaukee withstood a triple-double from Jaylen Brown, who had 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Brown’s 11 assists matched his career high.
Pelicans 127, Trail Blazers 94: CJ Mccollum scored 23 points in 29 minutes against his former team and host New Orleans moved closer to clinching a home play-in game with a victory over Portland.
Jonas Valanciunas, who returned from a sore right ankle, scored 14 points in 21 minutes for the Pelicans, who were without leading scorer Brandon Ingram (right hamstring), but wound up not needing any starters on the floor for as many as 30 minutes against a reeling Blazers team that had a patchwork lineup and lost its ninth straight.
Timberwolves 127, Spurs 121: Anthony Edwards set a career high with 49 points and Karl-anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds as host Minnesota hung on over San Antonio.
Edwards’ big output came on 16of-28 shooting and 6 of 14 from 3-point range. He found multiple ways to score, including a highlight-reel dunk and a game-high 11 free throws.
Keldon Johnson had 20 points and Devin Vassell scored 18 for San Antonio. Eight players scored in double figures for the Spurs.
Nuggets 122, Grizzlies 109: The Nuggets clinched a playoff berth with a win over the visiting Grizzlies behind 35 points from Nikola Jokic and 22 from Aaron Gordon.
Jokic took an inadvertent elbow from Jaren Jackson Jr. to the right forehead and temple that drew blood in the opening minute and he went to the sideline for treatment.
Warriors 128, Lakers 112: Klay Thompson scored 33 points with six 3pointers and the host Warriors won their third straight game after dropping four in a row, running away late from the depleted Lakers.
Jordan Poole added 19 points and a career-high 11 assists for the Warriors on a festive night at Chase Center, where huge Golden State fan and K-pop star Bambam brought the house down with a spirited halftime performance in the Warriors’ final regular-season home game.*