Bulls inch closer to clinching playoff berth after topping Hawks
CHICAGO — Jimmy Butler scored 33 points and hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to lift Chicago to a 106-104 victory over Atlanta on Saturday.
Butler scored Chicago’s final nine points. His free throws gave the Bulls a two-point lead and capped a 15-4 run.
Tim Hardaway Jr. then missed a 3-pointer for Atlanta as time expired, giving Chicago its third straight win. That put them in a tie with Miami and Indiana for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Sixth-placed Atlanta, which had won two straight after dropping seven in a row, trails Milwaukee by a game.
Rajon Rondo had a season-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds. Denzel Valentine scored 13 points as Chicago stopped a seven-game losing streak to Atlanta.
Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 29 points; Hardaway scored 20.
Atlanta was leading 100-91 with less than five minutes to go when Chicago went on its run.
CLIPPERS 115, LAKERS 104
Blake Griffin scored 36 points, Chris Paul added 29, and the Clippers beat the Lakers in Los Angeles, giving coach Doc Rivers his 800th career victory.
J.J. Redick added 19 points for the Clippers, who moved within a game of idle Utah for the No. 4 playoff seed in the West. The Clippers have won three in a row and seven of nine.
The series between the Staples Center co-tenants has been dominated by the Clippers of late. They’ve won 18 of 20 since the start of the 2012-13 season.
BLAZERS 130, SUNS 117
Damian Lillard scored 31 points as Portland continued its late-season push for the playoffs with a sixth straight victory, beating visiting Phoenix.
CJ McCollum added 29 points for Portland, which holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Devin Booker had 31 for the Suns, who lost their 11th straight for the fifth-longest losing streak in franchise history.
KINGS 123, T-WOLVES 117
Buddy Hield tied a career high with 22 points, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and Sacramento got 66 points from its bench in a victory over host Minnesota.
Reserve point guard Ty Lawson had 21 points and 11 assists. Langston Galloway added 17 points and Aaron Afflalo scored 16 off the bench as Sacramento recovered after losing by 28 points a night earlier at New Orleans against former Sacramento star DeMarcus Cousins.
NETS 121, MAGIC 111
Brook Lopez scored 30 points, Trevor Booker added 23, and Brooklyn beat visiting Orlando.
Sean Kilpatrick added 15 points for Brooklyn, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Brooklyn had 72 points in the paint.
From wire reports