Kobe injury overshadows Lakers win over Warriors
Heat roll again, top Celtics
LOS ANGELES, April 13, (AP): Kobe Bryant scored 34 points while playing much of the second half in obvious pain with an injured left leg and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied in the final minutes without him to stay in the NBA playoff race with a 118-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
Immediately after the game, the Lakers announced Bryant probably had a torn tendon. He will have an MRI exam Saturday, but Bryant knows the injury is likely to end his season.
The fifth-leading scorer in NBA histo- ry stayed in the game until 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter despite injuring his leg early in the second half. Bryant apparently hyperextended his knee before tearing his tendon later in the half.
Stephen Curry scored 47 points in a dynamic performance for the Warriors, but Los Angeles played just enough late defense to hang on for a crucial win.
Los Angeles stayed one game ahead of Utah for the eighth playoff spot in the NBA Western Conference with two games to go. The Jazz hold the tiebreaker.
Heat 109, Celtics 101 In Miami, LeBron James scored 20 points in 29 minutes and Rashard Lewis added 19 as Miami topped Boston to match the franchise record for home wins in a season.
Dwyane Wade, back after missing six games with bone bruises around his right kneecap, scored 11 in 34 minutes for Miami, which won its 35th home game to match the standard set in 2004-05.
The Heat erased an early 13-point deficit with a 41-point second quarter, shooting 16 for 19 in the period. Miami also made 12 3-pointers to push its season total to 686, another team record.
Jeff Green scored 25 for Boston, which played without Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics’ bench was outscored 52-14.
Jazz 107, Timberwolves 100 In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson tied a career high with 40 points, including a clutch jumper with 39 seconds left, to power Utah past Minnesota.
Jefferson scored 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the third to turn a seven-point deficit into an 82-81 lead entering the fourth. His 14-footer as the shot clock expired gave Utah a 101-98 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
J.J. Barea scored a season-high 23 points off the bench for Minnesota.
Nets 117, Pacers 109 In Indianapolis, Deron Williams had 33 points and 14 assists as Brooklyn defeated Indiana to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson each had 24 points for the Nets, who have won four of their last five games.
David West had 26 points and nine rebounds and Paul George had 21 for the Pacers, who have lost three of four.
The Nets are guaranteed the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and pulled within two games of the Pacers for No. 3.
Knicks 101, Cavaliers 91 In Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and 14 rebounds in just three quarters as New York bounced back after having its winning streak stopped at 13 games one night earlier.
Anthony’s streak of scoring at least 35 points ended at six games as New York coach Mike Woodson chose to rest the All-Star forward the entire fourth quarter.
J.R. Smith also scored 31 - 13 in the fourth while Anthony watched - for New York, which is trying to hold off Indiana for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Knicks have a three-game lead over the Pacers heading into their matchup Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Kyrie Irving scored 31 for the Cavs, who are 4-17 since March 1. Irving attempted a career-high 27 shots.
Hawks 109, Bucks 104
In Atlanta, Jeff Teague and Josh Smith each scored 24 points and Atlanta used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead after trailing by 19 early in the second half and beat Milwaukee.
Atlanta moved a half-game ahead of Chicago for fifth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Spurs 108, Kings
101 In San Antonio, Tony Parker had 22 points and 10 assists as San Antonio beat Sacramento despite losing two key players.
Tim Duncan added 18 points, Kawhi Leonard had 15 points and Tiago Splitter and Danny Green had 12 apiece as seven players scored in double figures for San Antonio.
DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Jason Thompson added 18 points, Toney Douglas had 15 and Jimmer Fredette had 14 for Sacramento, which lost its sixth straight to San Antonio.
Grizzlies 82, Rockets 78 In Houston, Marc Gasol had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Memphis ended a 13game losing streak in Houston.
Zach Randolph scored 15 points and Jerryd Bayless had 13 for the Grizzlies, who won in Houston for the first time since April 2006.
James Harden scored 30 points, but missed a potential game-tying jumper from near the top of the key just before the buzzer. Mavericks 108, Nuggets, 105, OT In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points and O.J. Mayo hit tiebreaking 3pointers late in regulation and overtime as Dallas denied Denver a franchise record in wins.
Mayo’s shot in regulation could have won the game, but his turnover in the final seconds led to a tying layup by Corey Brewer.
Thunder 106, Trail Blazers 90 In Portland, Oregon, Russell Westbrook scored 33 points, including 17 in the third quarter, as Oklahoma City beat short-handed Portland.
Earlier in the evening, the Thunder clinched their third straight NBA Northwest Division title when Dallas defeated Denver 108-105 in overtime. Oklahoma City also remained a halfgame up on San Antonio for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Raptors 97, Bulls 88 In Toronto, Amir Johnson had 24 points and nine rebounds and Rudy Gay scored 23 points as Toronto earned its second straight win over Chicago.
Kyle Lowry had 13 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points for the Raptors, who were coming off a 101-98 win in Chicago on Tuesday night.
Quincy Acy had 10 points and nine rebounds as Toronto won for the fourth time in five games.
Clippers 96, Hornets 93 In New Orleans, Blake Griffin scored 20 points and Chris Paul made clutch plays on both ends of the floor in the final minute as Los Angeles overcame a 10point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat New Orleans.
Matt Barnes finished with 16 points, scoring three times during a critical stretch for the Clippers, who would have seen their hopes of remaining a top-four playoff seed in the Western Conference take a hit with a loss.
76ers 97, Wizards 86 In Washington, Jrue Holiday scored 22 points as Philadelphia found enough motivation to put Washington’s pursuit of ninth place in the Eastern Conference to rest for good.
Thaddeus Young added 18 points and 13 points for the 76ers, who have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
Pistons 113, Bobcats 93 In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jonas Jerebko scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half as Detroit routed Charlotte behind terrific outside shooting.
Detroit went 12 of 18 from 3-point range, with Brandon Knight making all three of his attempts en route to scoring 19 points.