(The Sports Xchange) – Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan had a career-high 42 points to lead the Raptors to a 99-96 win over the Houston Rockets.
DeRozan went 14 for 27 from the field and 12 of 17 from the foul line to go along with 11 rebounds.
Guard James Harden had a team-high 31 points, five rebounds and five assists for Houston, who had their five-game win streak snapped.
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Trail Blazers 109, Suns 86
Guard Damian Lillard scored 19 points as the Portland Trail Blazers clinched a playoff berth in the NBA’s Western Confernence with a 109-86 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Trail Blazers (48-25), who won their fourth successive game.
Guard Gerald Green came off the bench to score 13 points for the Suns.
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Hawks 101, Bucks 88
Forward DeMarre Carroll paced a typical balanced attack for Atlanta, lifting the Hawks to a 101-88 win over the Bucks.
Carroll finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points to lead the Bucks (36-38) who are trying to hold off the Miami Heat for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining.
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Celtics 116, Hornets 104
Guard Avery Bradley scored 30 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-104 in an important battle for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
The Celtics raced to a 14-point halftime lead, led by as many as 22 in the third quarter, then held off a late Charlotte comeback that got as close as six in the final minute.
The win allowed the Celtics (33-41) to move back into a tie with Brooklyn for eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Grizzlies 97, Kings 83
Point guard Mike Conley scored 18 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings 97-83 to snap a three-game losing streak.
Memphis led 75-64 going into the fourth quarter and maintained a double-digit lead most of the way.
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Lakers 113, 76ers 111 (OT)
Jordan Clarkson dropped in a layup with 0.7 seconds left in overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 113-111.
Clarkson led all scorers with 26 points while Jabari Brown scored 22 points and Wayne Ellington had 20 for Los Angeles, which has the league’s fourth-worst record at 20-53.
Nerlens Noel finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers.
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Jazz 104, Timberwolves 84
The Utah Jazz outscored the Minnesota Timberwolves by 14 points in the third quarter en route to a lopsided 104-84 victory.
Utah forward Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 22 points and second-year guard Trey Burke chipped in 19 points off the bench.
Utah (33-41) started the second half on a 14-0 run to build a 24-point lead as Minnesota shot just 36.8 percent.
