Grizzlies dump Magic, earn homecourt edge
MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The Memphis Grizzlies claimed the No.4 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of NBA playoffs by beating the Orlando Magic 88-76 on Thursday.
Marc Gasol scored 22 points and Rudy Gay added 20 for the Grizzlies, who won their 11th straight home game and will open the playoffs at home Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers, who dropped to the fifth seed.
HAWKS 106, MAVERICKS 89
In Atlanta, the hosts clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs by beating defending champ Dallas.
Josh Smith scored 23 points for the Hawks, who raced to a 23-point lead in the first quarter and wrapped up the fourth-best record in the East and host fourth-seeded Boston on Sunday.
SPURS 107, WARRIORS 101
Article continues after this advertisementIn OAkland, Patty Mills had career highs of 34 points and 12 assists as undermanned San Antonio beat Golden State.
Article continues after this advertisementDeJuan Blair added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who finished with the best record in the Western Conference despite having one of the league’s oldest rosters.
BULLS 107, CAVALIERS 75
In Chicago, the hosts clinched the top overall seed in the playoffs by routing Cleveland.
John Lucas III scored a career-high 25 points and Joakim Noah had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who had already claimed the top seed in the East and with Thursday’s win they guaranteed they would finish ahead of San Antonio for the best record overall.
CELTICS 87, BUCKS 74
In Boston, Paul Pierce scored all 12 of his points in the first half despite missing most of it with a sprained toe as Boston set up the win over Milwaukee.
WIZARDS 104, HEAT 70
In Washington, the hosts inflicted the heaviest loss of the season on a Miami team that was resting its stars.
Miami rested LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh for the second straight game.
NUGGETS 131, TIMBERWOLVES 102
In Minneapolis, Denver locked up the sixth seed in the West by defeating Minnesota.
JaVale McGee scored 19 points and Arron Afflalo added 18 for the Nuggets, who won their fourth straight game.
JAZZ 96, TRAIL BLAZERS 94
In Salt Lake City, rookie Alec Burks scored 18 points as Utah put together a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that beat Portland.
The Jazz finished the season on a five-game winning streak and will face top-seeded San Antonio in a first-round Western Conference matchup starting Sunday.
KINGS 113, LAKERS 96
In Sacramento, DeMarcus Cousins had 23 points and 19 rebounds as Sacramento beat Los Angeles’ bench players.
PISTONS 108, 76ERS 86
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Ben Gordon scored 26 points, including eight 3-pointers, to help Detroit cruise past Philadelphia.
ROCKETS 84, HORNETS 77
In Houston, Chase Budinger scored a season-high 27 points to lead Houston over New Orleans.
