SGA helps OKC get piece of No. 1 seed in West

Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the injury-depleted Milwaukee Bucks 125-107 on Friday night to boost their hopes of taking the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The Thunder entered the night trailing the Nuggets by one game and tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference standings with two games remaining. Denver lost to San Antonio, while Minnesota beat Atlanta on Friday, leaving the three teams tied for the conference lead with a game remaining.

TIMBERWOLVES 109, HAWKS 106

Rudy Gobert had 25 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks to help Minnesota defeat Atlanta and move into a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves welcomed back All-star forward Karl-anthony Towns, who had 11 points after missing 18 games after surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his left knee.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 19 points in 27 minutes.

CELTICS 131, HORNETS 98

Payton Prichard scored a career-high 31 points and Boston rolled to a win over Charlotte.

76ERS 125, MAGIC 113

Joel Embiid had 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists after an apparent injury scare in the first half and Philadelphia beat Orlando.

Franz Wagner scored 24 points for Orlando.

LAKERS 123, GRIZZLIES 120

Lebron James had 37 points, including six in the final minute, and 10 rebounds and Anthony Davis had 36 points and 14 rebounds as Los Angeles beat short-handed Memphis.

GG Jackson scored 31 points to lead the Grizzlies.

PISTONS 107 MAVERICKS 89

Marcus Sasser scored 24 points in his hometown return, including 13 straight Detroit points during a stretch of the third quarter, and the Pistons beat Dallas — playing without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

BULLS 129, WIZARDS 127

Rookie Adama Sanogo had 22 points and 20 rebounds to shatter his career highs and help shorthanded Chicago beat Washington.

KNICKS 111, NETS 107

Jalen Brunson had 30 points and 11 assists after a slow start, OG Anunoby scored all of his 15 points in the third quarter and New York beat Brooklyn.

CAVALIERS 129, PACERS 120

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Jarrett Allen had 29 points and 13 rebounds and Cleveland clinched a playoff berth with a victory over Indiana.

HEAT 125, RAPTORS 103

Nikola Jovic scored 22 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 20 points and nine assists in Miami’s win.