Spurs strengthen playoff hopes with win over Rockets
LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Rudy Gay added 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs held Houston to its lowest-scoring game of the season, beating the Rockets 100-83 on Sunday.
The Spurs remained fourth in the Western Conference after preventing a season sweep by the Rockets. Houston owns the NBA’s best record.
San Antonio outscored Houston 19-8 to open the fourth quarter in taking a 94-74 lead with 5 minutes remaining. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni opted to take his starters out two minutes later.
The Rockets were without injured Chris Paul and the Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard, who has played in only nine games this season.
James Harden scored 25 points for Houston on 8-of19 shooting. He also had eight assists, but battled foul trouble before exiting with five fouls. Eric Gordon added 18 points for the Rockets.
CAVALIERS 98, MAVERICKS 87>> LeBron James had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for Cleveland, which needed a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from Dallas, which got 30 points from Harrison Barnes.
THUNDER 109, PELICANS 104 >> Russell Westbrook had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, and Paul George scored Oklahoma City’s first 11 points in the second quarter and finished with 27 to push Oklahoma City past New Orleans.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
76ERS 119, HORNETS 102 >> Ben Simmons had 20 points and 15 assists for Philadelphia, which set a team record with its ninth straight game of 30 or more assists.
Marco Belinelli scored 22 points off the bench and J.J. Redick had 20 for the 76ers. Robert Covington added 17 points and 11 rebounds. NUGGETS 128, BUCKS 125 (OT) >> Nikola Jokic had 35 points and 13 rebounds, and Jamal Murray scored 18 of his 27 points after the third quarter to help Denver rally from eight down in the final minute of regulation and beat Milwaukee.
The Nuggets moved within a game of eighthplace New Orleans for the final playoff spot in the West.
Jabari Parker scored a season-high 35 points for the Bucks, whose magic number for clinching a playoff spot in the East remains at two.
PISTONS 108, NETS 96 >> Reggie Jackson scored 29 points and Stanley Johnson added 17 for Detroit, which preserved its slim playoff hopes with a win over Brooklyn.
The Pistons are four games behind Miami, which holds the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining for each team. PACERS 111, CLIPPERS 104 >> Victor Oladipo scored 30 points and Myles Turner added 24 to help Indiana rally past Minnesota for its fifth straight victory.
Tobias Harris led the Clippers with 21 points. JAZZ 121, TIMBERWOLVES 97 >> Ricky Rubio scored 23 points and Donovan Mitchell added 21 for Utah, which shot a season-high 60.5 percent from the field and got 50 points from its reserves.
Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points for the Timberwolves, who fell to 19-5 at home against Western Conference opponents.
TRAIL BLAZERS 113, GRIZZLIES 98 >> Damian Lillard had 27 points and nine assists for Portland, which held off a late run by Memphis to clinch its fifth straight playoff spot.
CJ McCollum added 20 points and another nine assists for Portland, which is still holding on to third place in the Western Conference with five games remaining.
BULLS 113, WIZARDS 94 >> Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored 23 points and connected on 5-of-8 3-pointers in Chicago’s victory over Washington, which got 17 points from Otto Porter Jr. HAWKS 94, MAGIC 88 >> Tyler Dorsey scored 19 points and Dewayne Dedmon added 17 for Atlanta, which snapped its five-game losing streak by beating Orlando.
KINGS 84, LAKERS 83 >> Buddy Hield scored 19 points to help Sacramento snap its four-game losing streak with a victory over Los Angeles, which has lost seven of nine.