(The Sports Xchange) – Center Tiago Splitter scored a season-high 23 points and added eight rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-95.
San Antonio (44-25) jumped on Atlanta right away, racing to a 20-point lead in the first quarter and sending the Hawks (53-17) to their first three-game skid of the season.
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Cavaliers 108,
Bucks 90
Forward LeBron James scored 28 points and guard J.R. Smith made seven three-pointers to finish with 23 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Milwaukee 108-90, handing the Bucks their sixth straight loss.
Smith connected from distance on three consecutive fourth-quarter possessions, and capped off a 26-5 spurt for Cleveland, which trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter.
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Clippers 107, Pelicans 100
The Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 107-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The return after a two-game absence of forward Anthony Davis, who scored a game-high 26 points, could not prevent the Pelicans from slipping three games behind Oklahoma City in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
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Thunder 93,
Heat 75
The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away early in the fourth quarter and beat the Miami Heat 93-75.
Center Enes Kanter scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Thunder, while guard Russell Westbrook had 17 assists, matching his career high, and notched his 10th triple double of the season.
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Suns 98,
Mavericks 92
Guard Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points and forward Markieff Morris added 19 as the Phoenix Suns moved within 2 1/2 games of eighth place in the Western Conference with a 98-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Bledsoe made four free throws in the final 20.5 seconds as the Suns (38-33) won their fourth straight.
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Pistons 105,
Celtics 97 (OT)
The Detroit Pistons scored the first seven points in overtime to beat Boston 105-97 and dent the Celtics’ playoff hopes.
It was the third successive loss for the Celtics, who slipped to ninth in the Eastern Conference.
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Hornets 109, Timberwolves 98
Guard Mo Williams led the way with 24 points against his former team as Charlotte ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-98, a result that lifted the Hornets into the final playoff spot in the East.
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Kings 109,
Wizards 86
Forward Rudy Gay scored 26 points, and center DeMarcus Cousins added 20 as the Sacramento Kings posted consecutive wins for the first time in four months, a 109-86 shellacking of the Washington Wizards, who never led after the first quarter.
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Raptors 106,
Knicks 89
Guard DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 106-89.
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Nuggets 119,
Magic 100
Danilo Gallinari scored 40 points and five teammates reached double figures as the Denver Nuggets routed the Orlando Magic 119-100 and halted a three-game skid.
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Lakers 101,
76ers 87
Guard Jeremy Lin came off the bench to score a game-high 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-87.