Heat clinches playoff berth, beat Sixers
MIAMI, Florida — Miami’s LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points as the Heat clinched an NBA playoff berth with a 99-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter, helping the Heat finish off a four-game season sweep of Philadelphia and extend their home-court winning streak to 16 games.
Mario Chalmers added 19 for the hosts who won despite Dwyane Wade sitting out with a bruised knee. The Heat are 9-1 this season when Wade has not played.
Evan Turner scored 26 points for Philadelphia, which fell 1-1/2 games behind Boston in the Atlantic Division.
Pacers 112, Knicks 104
In Indianapolis, the hosts came from 17 points down in the second half to overrun New York.
Danny Granger scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers outscored the Knicks 40-17 in the final 12 minutes.
Paul George scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who are in a close fight for a playoff spot while missing Amare Stoudemire (back) and Jeremy Lin (knee).
Spurs 125, Cavaliers 90
In Cleveland, San Antonio coasted to its eighth straight win by smashing Cleveland.
Danny Green scored 19 points against the team that released him last season, while Tony Parker added 19 for the Spurs, who built a 22-point lead in the first half and rested Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for most of the fourth quarter.
Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs in his return after missing a game with a sprained right shoulder.
Cleveland has lost eight straight and been outscored by 72 points in its past two home games.
Lakers 91, Nets 87
In Los Angeles, the home team blew a 17-point lead before recovering to beat New Jersey.
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and rattled home a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left that helped salvage victory.
Pau Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers who led by 12 early in the fourth quarter, only for but Deron Williams to lead an 18-6 run for New Jersey, tying it with a 3-pointer with 1:29 left.
Bryant made a long jumper moments later, and the Lakers controlled the ball for 52 straight seconds during the final minute with an offensive rebound and an out-of-bounds deflection. Bryant then made his third 3-pointer, beating the shot clock, and Williams missed his own 3-point attempt.
Pistons 102, Magic 95
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Greg Monroe had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Detroit over undermanned Orlando.
The Magic were without starters Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Ryan Anderson because of injuries.
Ben Gordon added 18 points for the Pistons, who shot 12 of 18 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Glen Davis, who started at center in Howard’s place, led Orlando with a career-high 31 but the Magic lost their fourth straight — their worst skid of the season.
Grizzlies 98, Warriors 94
In Memphis, the hosts overcame a lackluster performance with a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Golden State.
O.J. Mayo scored 19 points and Mike Conley added 18 for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 12 early in the fourth quarter but went on a 13-0 run to erase the advantage and fight to their third straight win.
David Lee scored 22 points to lead the Warriors, who lost their sixth straight.
SUNS 109, KINGS 100
In Sacramento, Marcin Gortat had 20 points and 10 rebounds as Phoenix beat Sacramento.
Steve Nash added 18 points and 12 assists for the Suns, who moved within 1-1/2 games of Houston for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff berth.
DeMarcus Cousins scored a career-high 41 points and had 12 rebounds for the Kings.
Raptors 92, Bobcats 87
In Toronto, Andrea Bargnani scored 30 points to lead Toronto over Charlotte.
DeMar DeRozan had 20 as Toronto won back-to-back games at home for the first time since 2010.
Byron Mullens had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Bobcats, who lost their eighth straight.
