Warriors top Mavs, clinch home court
DALLAS — Klay Thompson scored 21 points and the Golden State Warriors clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with their 12th straight victory, beating the Dallas Mavericks 123110 on Saturday night.
The Warriors (63-13) need one more victory to assure they’ll finish with the best record in the NBA for the first time since 1975-76. They hold the tiebreaker on Atlanta for the top overall seed.
Stephen Curry scored 11 points and Andre Iguodala and Maurice Speights each finished with 18 points.
Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points to lead the Mavericks, who lost for the sixth time in eight games.
Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo left in the third quarter with a hyperextended left knee and didn’t return. Dallas was already without forward Chandler Parsons, who was out with right knee soreness.
OTHER GAMES
Clippers 107, Nuggets 92 at Denver: J.J. Redick scored 24 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Chris Paul had 23 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who moved a half-game ahead of San Antonio for the fifth seed in the Western Conference with their ninth win in 10 games. They are a game behind Memphis for the third seed and host the Grizzlies next Saturday.
Hawks 131, Nets 99 at Atlanta: Al Horford and DeMarre Carroll scored 20 points each to help the Hawks match a franchise record with their 57th win. However, the Hawks lost forward Paul Millsap to a right shoulder injury. There was no update on his injury.
Celtics 117, Raptors 116 (OT ) at Toronto: Rookie guard Marcus Smart hit a buzzer-beating layup in overtime for Boston. With 2.6 seconds left and Boston trailing by one, Smart took a pass from a driving Isaiah Thomas and sneaked behind the collapsing Toronto defense to score the winning basket.
Hornets 92, 76ers 91 at Charlotte, N.C.: Gerald Henderson’s driving layup with six seconds left lifted the Hornets. Ish Smith had a chance to win it for the 76ers, but his driving lefthanded layup at the buzzer was too strong.
Pistons 99, Heat 98 at Auburn Hills, Mich.: Reggie Jackson scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning layup with five seconds left. Andre Drummond finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds as Detroit rallied from 15 down in the fourth and closed with a 21-6 run over the final 5:36.
Magic 97, Bucks 90 at Milwaukee: Tobias Harris had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points as Orlando beat the Bucks. Victor Oladipo added 15 points to help Orlando get its second road win in two nights after losing 12 straight away from home. Harris made a career-best five 3-pointers.
DEVELOPMENT
George returning: AllStar forward Paul George, who suffered a gruesome compound fracture in his right leg last summer, will return to the Indiana Pacers today against the Miami Heat.
George has not played this season after he broke a leg while playing during a FIBA Basketball World Cup scrimmage in Las Vegas on Aug. 1. George underwent surgery to repair the fracture and was expected to miss the season.
Coach Frank Vogel said George will play about 10 to 15 minutes today.