(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Wednesday’s National Basketball Association games.
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Pacers 84, Heat 83
Indiana and Miami performed at a playoff level in a battle that saw the Pacers rally in the final minutes for a victory over the defending champion Heat.
In a see-sawing showdown, Miami’s Chris Bosh missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer after Indiana guard George Hill missed two free throws with 2.3 seconds to play.
Indiana, 33-4 at home this season, had consecutive field goals from guard Evan Turner with 2:03 and 1:30 left, and the Pacers took a one-point lead that they never relinquished.
LeBron James led all scorers with 38 points. Forward Paul George led the Pacers with 23 points and Indiana (52-20) now holds a three-game lead over the Heat (48-22) in the race for the East’s top playoff seed.
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Spurs 108, Nuggets 103
The San Antonio Spurs extended their win streak to 15 games behind forward Tim Duncan’s 29 points and 13 rebounds, defeating the Denver Nuggets.
Duncan was 12-of-20 from the field and added five assists, as San Antonio (55-16) recorded its second longest streak in franchise history.
The longest, 17, happened during the 1995-96 season.
Spurs guard Danny Green scored 16 points but suffered a right mid-foot sprain and played only two minutes in the second half.
Aaron Brooks had 25 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets (32-40).
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Raptors 99, Celtics 90
The Toronto Raptors moved closer to the Atlantic Division title with a victory over the Boston Celtics.
The win, only the third in the last seven games for Toronto, moved the Raptors 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the division lead.
The Raptors started the night as the fourth playoff seed. With a loss by the New York Knicks in Sacramento late Wednesday, Toronto clinches its first playoff berth since 2008.
Terrence Ross had 24 points to lead the Raptors (40-31) while Jared Sullinger scored a team-high 26 for the Celtics (23-48).
