NBA: Miami on brink of elimination; other results
Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Miami Heat forward Luol Deng (9) of Sudan, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 11, 2015, in Miami. DeRozan finished the night with 24 points as the Raptors defeated the Heat 107-104. AP
MIAMI, United States — Lou Williams scored 29 points, DeMar DeRozan added 24 and the Toronto Raptors put the Miami Heat on the brink of playoff elimination with a 107-104 victory Saturday night.
Greivis Vasquez and Kyle Lowry each scored 12 points and Patrick Patterson had 11 for the Raptors, who clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Dwyane Wade scored 30 points for the Heat, who can only get to 37 wins — the number that Brooklyn and Boston are already at, putting them in the No. 7 and No. 8 spots in the Eastern Conference race. Goran Dragic scored 22 points for Miami and Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds.
But Whiteside also missed 12 free throws, going 4 for 16, and the Heat went 24 of 44 from the line.
Williams hit a 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds left to put the Raptors up by five, and that just about sealed not just the game but Miami’s playoff fate. The Heat must win their last two games, and get a ton of help to reach the postseason for the seventh straight year.
It was Toronto’s first road win over the Heat since Nov. 19, 2008, ending a 10-game slide on Miami’s home floor. The win was Toronto’s 48th of the season and 22nd on the road, both tying franchise records.
KNICKS 80, MAGIC 79
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Cole Aldrich had a career-high 19 points and New York beat Orlando in a game that had the lowest-scoring quarter in NBA history.
The teams combined to score only 15 points in the second quarter, breaking the record of 18. The previous NBA mark was accomplished three times, the last by Utah and Detroit on March 13, 2005.
The Knicks scored eight points in the quarter, shooting 3 for 20 from the field with a pair of turnovers. The Magic had seven points and were 3 for 19 from the field, with seven turnovers.
Aldrich also had 14 rebounds to help the Knicks win for the second time in 13 games. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 13 points, including a late 3-pointer that proved to the winner.
Victor Oladipo had 21 points for the Magic.
BULLS 114, 76ERS 107
CHICAGO (AP) — Pau Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Derrick Rose — in his third game back after missing two months following knee surgery — had 22 points and eight assists in 28 minutes in Chicago’s victory over Philadelphia.
The Bulls remained tied with Toronto for third place in the Eastern Conference with two games to go for each team.
The 76ers dressed just nine players, but stayed close with an aggressive, attacking style on both ends. Robert Covington led Philadelphia with 22 points, Jason Richardson had 19, and JaKarr Sampson 18.
