Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and tied a career high with eight 3-pointers as the visiting Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 119-117 in overtime Tuesday.
With their ninth straight win on the road, the Celtics secured their first four-game regular-season sweep of the Knicks since the 2019-20 season. By virtue of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win over the Chicago Bulls, Boston (59-20) is locked in as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York (50-29) needs one more win or a loss by the Indiana Pacers to lock up the No. 3 seed.
Porzingis, the former Knick, had the biggest shot of the night, making a 3-pointer with 40.8 seconds left in overtime to break a 112-112 tie. The Knicks turned the ball over on their next possession and Jrue Holiday made four free throws in the final 12.6 seconds to clinch it for Boston.
Jayson Tatum scored 32 points for the Celtics. Jrue Holliday scored 16 points and Derrick White chipped in 14. For the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 34 points, Jalen Brunson added 27 and Josh Hart finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out.
Thunder 136, Lakers 120
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points to lead Oklahoma City past Los Angeles as the Thunder avenged a loss to the Lakers two days earlier.
The Thunder snapped a two-game losing streak and set a franchise record for victories in a season. The previous record was set in 1995-96 when the franchise was in Seattle.
Lakers star Luka Doncic was ejected little more than four minutes into the fourth quarter when he picked up his second technical foul of the game. After his ejection, the Thunder went on a 13-4 run to take control.
Bucks 110, Timberwolves 103
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and Milwaukee stormed back from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter to post a win over visiting Minnesota.
Kevin Porter Jr. added 21 points off the bench for Milwaukee, which won its fifth game in a row. Bobby Portis scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. The Bucks outscored the Timberwolves 40-13 in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 23-0 run.
Anthony Edwards scored 25 points on 10-for-27 shooting to lead Minnesota. Donte DiVincenzo scored 24 points off the bench and Naz Reid chipped in 17 off the bench for the Timberwolves, whose five-game winning streak ended.
Warriors 133, Suns 95
Stephen Curry amassed 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Brandin Podziemski scored 22 points, and visiting Golden State blew past Phoenix.
Trayce Jackson-Davis added 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Warriors, who won their sixth game in seven tries. Jimmy Butler III, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevin Knox II and Pat Spencer each put up 10 points for Golden State, which led by as many as 41 points and pulled even with the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies in a four-way for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference standings.
Phoenix dropped its seventh straight game despite Devin Booker’s 21 points. Ryan Dunn and Grayson Allen chipped in 12 points apiece for the Suns, who are all but eliminated from play-in contention. They fell three games back of the 10th-place Dallas Mavericks with three games to go.
Clippers 122, Spurs 117
Ivica Zubac scored 24 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and James Harden added 21 points and 12 assists as Los Angeles continued its strong close to the regular season with a victory over San Antonio in Inglewood, Calif.
Norman Powell scored 25 points, Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 and Derrick Jones Jr. had 18 for the Clippers, who are 15-3 since March 5. The Clippers are in fourth place in the Western Conference via a four-team tiebreaker, with three regular-season games remaining. The Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies are also all 47-32.
Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and Stephon Castle added 19 points and eight assists for the Spurs, who lost for the eighth time in nine games and already have been eliminated from postseason contention. Keldon Johnson scored 12 points.
Magic 119, Hawks 112
Paolo Banchero recorded his third straight double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds as Orlando beat visiting Atlanta for its third straight win.
Orlando moved two games ahead of Atlanta for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference with three games to play for both teams while the Hawks lost for the sixth time in their last eight games. The teams meet one last time in the regular-season finale.
Franz Wagner scored 22 points and Wendell Carter Jr. added 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high six steals for Orlando, which leads the season series 2-1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 15 points. Onyeka Okongwu matched his career high with 30 points and had 14 rebounds for Atlanta. Trae Young added 28 points and 10 assists.
Nets 119, Pelicans 114
Trendon Watford scored 11 of his 22 points in a 43-point third quarter for Brooklyn, which halted a five-game home losing streak with a win over New Orleans.
Drew Timme added 16 points and nine rebounds to lead a reserve unit that totaled 66 points for the Nets. Dariq Whitehead contributed 14 while Nic Claxton and Tosan Evbuomwan finished with 13 apiece.
Antonio Reeves scored 17 points as the Pelicans dropped their fourth straight and lost for the 15th time in 20 games. Karlo Matkovic also scored 17 and Jose Alvarado added 16.
Grizzlies 124, Hornets 100
Ja Morant scored 28 points as Memphis defeated host Charlotte, but the Grizzlies saw one of their starters injured on a scary fall.
Memphis rookie Jaylen Wells left the court on a stretcher late in the first half after crashing hard to the court. Wells suffered a broken right wrist but was awake and alert, with movement in his extremities. Wells was going up for a dunk when the Hornets’ KJ Simpson fouled him from behind in an undercut that left Wells in a vulnerable position. Simpson was ejected when the foul was upgraded to Flagrant 2.
Desmond Bane racked up 19 points, Zach Edey had 17 points and 19 rebounds and Jaren Jackson Jr. posted 14 points for the Grizzlies, who have won three in a row. Off the bench, Santi Aldama had 11 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 10 points. Miles Bridges led the Hornets (19-60) in their home finale with 13 points.
Pacers 104, Wizards 98
Pascal Siakam scored four of his game-high 24 points to jump-start a late-game run that powered host Indiana past Washington for its fifth win in a row.
A sluggish start left the Pacers playing from behind much of the way against the last-place Wizards. Crucial 3-pointers from Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner provided Indiana with welcome relief on an otherwise dismal shooting night, with the team going just 9-for-35 (25.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Pacers limited the Wizards to 38-of-90 (41.8 percent) shooting from the floor, including 11-for-39 (28.2 percent) from long range. Alex Sarr scored 20 points and contributed 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots. Washington’s Justin Champagnie added 20 points and a game-high 13 boards as the Wizards lost for the sixth time in seven games.
–Field Level Media
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