(The Sports Xchange) – The San Antonio Spurs cut the ‘magic number’ to clinch a playoff berth to one after beating Miami 95-81.
The Spurs were led by Kawhi Leonard, who had a game-high 22 points, while Tim Duncan added 12 points and 11 rebounds and Tony Parker chipped in with 16 points and five assists.
San Antonio (48-26) have now won four straight while Miami (34-40) had their five-game home winning streak snapped.
The Heat, who lost to the Spurs in last year’s NBA Finals, were led by Goran Dragic’s 19 points, while Dwyane Wade had 15.
– – –
Pistons 105, Hawks 95
Andre Drummond had 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons gave Stan Van Gundy his 400th coaching victory by downing the Atlanta Hawks 105-95.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope supplied 18 points, including 12 in the second half, and Reggie Jackson contributed 12 and 11 assists for Detroit (29-45), who have won five of six.
Anthony Tolliver also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Van Gundy became the 43rd coach in NBA history to reach the 400-win mark.
– – –
Nets 111, Pacers 106
Brook Lopez continued his dominant play of late, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and Joe Johnson added 21 including a clutch three-pointer in the closing seconds as the Brooklyn Nets beat Indiana 111-106.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Nets (33-40) and their fifth in their last six games as they moved a half-game ahead of idle Boston into the eighth and final playoff place in the Eastern Conference with nine games to play.
The Pacers lost for the eighth time in their last 10 games and fell to 32-42, 1 1/2 games behind the Nets in the standings.
The Pacers were led by George Hill, who had 28 points.
– – –
Warriors 110, Clippers 106
Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Klay Thompson added 25 to guide the Golden State Warriors to a 110-106 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
Blake Griffin had 40 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Clippers (49-26), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Chris Paul finished with 27 points and nine assists.
David Lee had 17 points for the Warriors (61-13), who won their 10th in a row despite trailing by 17 early on.
Two free throws by Paul knotted the score at 100 with 3:11 left, but the Clippers’ offense stalled down the stretch.
