Heat beat Celtics 129-121 to clinch playoff berth

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, left, drives to the basket past Boston Celtics center Tristan Thompson during the second half of Tuesday's game in Boston. - Photo by Charles Krupa of The Associated Press
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, left, drives to the basket past Boston Celtics center Tristan Thompson during the second half of Tuesday's game in Boston. - Photo by Charles Krupa of The Associated Press

BOSTON -- Tyler Herro scored 24 points and the Miami Heat clinched a playoff spot and sent the Boston Celtics to the brink of the play-in tournament Tuesday night with a 129-121 victory.

Miami moved into a tie with idle Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The surging Heat won for the 10th time in 13 games. They have three games left in the regular season.

Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson each scored 22 points, Kendrick Nunn had 18 and Goran Dragic 17 for the Heat. They swept the two-game series in Boston.

Kemba Walker led the Celtics in their regular-season home finale with 36 points. Jayson Tatum scored 33 and Evan Fournier 20. Boston has lost seven of 10.

LAKERS 101, KNICKS 99, OT

LOS ANGELES -- Talen Horton-Tucker made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 21.1 seconds remaining in overtime, and Los Angeles improved its hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament and prevented New York from clinching a postseason berth.

Horton-Tucker scored seven of his 13 points in overtime. Kyle Kuzma, who missed Sunday's game due to lower back tightness, led the Lakers with 23 points and Anthony Davis scored 20.

Los Angeles (39-30) is one game behind Portland and Dallas for the sixth seed in the Western Conference with three games remaining in the regular season.

Julius Randle had 31 points and Derrick Rose 27 for the Knicks, who were hoping to clinch their first postseason berth since 2013 with a victory. New York, Atlanta and Miami are all tied at 38-31, but only the Heat have secured their spot in the top six of the Eastern Conference.

WARRIORS 122, SUNS 116

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jordan Poole hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:43 left, Andrew Wiggins scored the next time down and finished with 38 points and Golden State rallied past Phoenix.

Draymond Green notched his sixth triple-double of the season and 29th of his career with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Warriors made it two wins in as many nights against two top teams in the Western Conference.

Stephen Curry made a 9-foot jumper with 45 seconds left while falling to the floor, a bright finish to his 21-point performance on another tough outing for him shooting 3-pointers.

Devin Booker scored 34 points and knocked down a key 3-pointer with 5:25 left for Phoenix and Paul added 24 points, but the Warriors delivered all the key plays down the stretch.

NUGGETS 117, HORNETS 112

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic each scored 30 points, and Denver held off Charlotte to snap a two-game slide.

Jokic had 11 rebounds and six assists. Porter knocked down six 3-pointers as the Nuggets withstood a furious late rally led by Devonte Graham, who scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, including five 3-pointers.

Jokic did most of his damage at the foul line, where he made 16 of 17 shots.

Terry Rozier, who had 43 points in Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, added 21 points for the Hornets, who are assured a spot in the play-in tournament.

GRIZZLIES 133, MAVERICKS 104

MEMPHIS, TENN. -- Ja Morant had 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Memphis used a third-quarter burst to beat Dallas.

Dillon Brooks added 22 points and John Konchar had a season-high 18 for the Grizzlies. Kyle Anderson scored 15 points, including 10 in the key third quarter as Memphis continues to try and move up in the Western Conference standings.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks with 19 points, while Willie Cauley-Stein finished with a season-high 16 points. Jalen Brunson scored 15, while leading scorer Luka Doncic managed 12 points but was 4 of 16 from the floor and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

NETS 115, BULLS 107

CHICAGO -- Kevin Durant had 21 points and eight assists, and Brooklyn beat Chicago despite Zach LaVine's 41 points.

Joe Harris added 17 points and Bruce Brown had 15 as Brooklyn won its second straight after a four-game slide.

Chicago had its three-game winning streak -- and probably its postseason hopes -- end.

Brooklyn lost guard Kyrie Irving to an apparent facial injury early in the second half.

PACERS 103, 76ERS 94

INDIANAPOLIS -- Domantas Sabonis had his ninth triple-double of the season and Caris LeVert added 24 points to help Indiana rally past Philadelphia, ending the 76ers' eight-game winning streak.

Sabonis finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists as Indiana won for the third time in four games and clinched a spot in the play-in round.

Philadelphia's season-best winning streak was snapped and it prevented the 76ers from clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2000-01. A win or losses by the Milwaukee Bucks or Brooklyn Nets would have wrapped it up.

Instead, Tobias Harris scored 27 points and Ben Simmons finished with 23 as Joel Embiid sat out with a non-COVID-19 related illness.

CLIPPERS 115, RAPTORS 96

TAMPA, FLA. -- Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points, Paul George added 16 and Los Angeles led all the way in a win over Toronto.

Terance Mann also scored 20 points and Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who stayed one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets in the race for third place in the NBA's Western Conference. Both teams have three road games left to play. The Nuggets hold the tiebreaker, having won two of three against the Clippers.

Chris Boucher had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.

BUCKS 114, MAGIC 102

MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and Milwaukee kept up its chase of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory over Orlando.

The Bucks (44-25) remained a game behind Brooklyn (45-24) for the second spot in the East. The Nets defeated Chicago 115-107 on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee, which holds the tiebreaker over the Nets, plays two of its final three games on the road, while Brooklyn finishes with three at home. Brooklyn is two games behind Philadelphia, which lost at Indiana.

Donte DiVincenzo added 19, Brook Lopez 17 and Jrue Holiday 15 for the Bucks, coming off a 146-125 loss at San Antonio on Monday. Bobby Portis had 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Cole Anthony had 18 points and Mo Wagner 17 for the Magic.

KINGS 122, THUNDER 106

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Terence Davis matched his season high with 27 points, Buddy Hield had 21 and Sacramento beat Oklahoma City to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.

Delon Wright added 21 points and eight assists for the Kings. Richaun Holmes had 13 points and seven rebounds. Maurice Harkless scored 15 points.

Sacramento (31-38) has won five of six to close within 2 ½ games of San Antonio (33-35) for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. To get in, the Kings must win their final three games and get help from other teams to leapfrog the Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.

TIMBERWOLVES 119, PISTONS 100

DETROIT -- Karl-Anthony Towns scored 28 points and Anthony Edwards added 22 as Minnesota beat undermanned Detroit in a game with significant lottery implications.

Minnesota's second straight win was its 22nd in 69 games, while the Pistons dropped to 20-50. The Houston Rockets (16-53) are the only team with fewer wins than Detroit.

Ricky Rubio added 19 points for Minnesota while DeAngelo Russell had 15 points and 10 assists.

Saddiq Bey scored 21 points and Saben Lee added 20 for Detroit, which lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

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