Green, Neal lead depleted Spurs to victory over Orlando,
Danny Green scored 20 points and Gary Neal added 16 to pace the depleted San Antonio Spurs to a 98-84 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
A 14-2 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Green midway through the fourth finally allowed the Spurs to take control. Before the run, San Antonio appeared sluggish and unable to pull away from the Magic, who were within four points at 74-70 with 10:37 remaining.
Already without Manu Ginobili, the Spurs rested Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard, and used Tim Duncan for only 14 minutes.
Maurice Harkless scored 18 points for Orlando. The Magic kept it close by taking advantage of nine first-half turnovers by the Spurs and 16 overall. Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Beno Udrih scored 14.
The Spurs avoided their first three-game losing streak since 2011.
Nuggets 113, Jazz 96: Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points, including nine straight in the fourth quarter, as visiting Denver ended Utah’s five-game winning streak.
Utah (39-37) fell a halfgame behind the idle Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth Western Conference playoff spot. The Dallas Mavericks, who also were idle, are 2 ½ games behind the Lakers.
Knicks 95, Hawks 82: Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points, Raymond Felton had three straight baskets in a key spurt, and visiting New York earned its 10th straight victory.
Anthony, coming off a 50-point effort against Miami on Tuesday, scored 24 points in the first half.
Celtics 98, Pistons 93: Jeff Green scored 34 points, including a 3-pointer with 45 sec-
onds left, as host Boston clinched a playoff berth.
Nets 113, Cavaliers 95: Deron Williams scored 24 points and Brooklyn ended an eight-game road trip by setting a franchise record for road wins in a season with 21.
Bobcats 88, 76ers 83: Gerald Henderson scored 24 points, Kemba Walker had 17 points, 10 assists and five steals, and host Charlotte snapped Philadelphia’s three-game winning streak.
Raptors 88, Wizards 78: Jonas Valanciunas scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for host Toronto.
Timberwolves 107, Bucks 98: Nikola Pekovic scored 27 points and Ricky Rubio added 18 points, 12 assists and eight steals for visiting Minnesota.
Late Tuesday: Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 19th career tripledouble, and the Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-81 Tuesday night in a key game for the two teams struggling to get into the Western Conference playoff picture. With former coach Phil Jackson in attendance for Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey retirement, Bryant played more than 47 minutes.