Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014 Clippers rally from 17 down to beat Suns 112-108

PHOENIX: Darren Collison and Blake Griffin scored 23 points apiece Knicks 110, Nets 81 after missing eight with strained left biceps. Jarrett Jack scored 13 and the rallied from a 17- third-quarter J.R. Smith had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists and points the Cavs, who have won five of their last six and are trying to deficit to beat the 112-108 Wednesday night. Chris added 23 points and 10 rebounds as New York beat catch Atlanta for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Victor Paul added 20 points, including a 32-foot 3-pointer just before the city rival Brooklyn to extend a late-season playoff push. Oladipo scored 16 points, Doron Lamb had 14 and Tobias Harris 11 for shot clock expired to put the Clippers up for good 108-106 with Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points a game after spraining his right the Magic. Cleveland shot 60.5 percent in the first half and 57.7 per- 1:48 to play. Eight Suns reached double figures, led by Marcus ankle to help the Knicks win for the 12th time in 15 games, dominat- cent for the game. Hawes and Waiters combined to hit 7 of 10 from Morris with 16 points. Phoenix fell into a three-way tie with ing a team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference since behind the arc and the Cavaliers were 20 of 24 (83.3 percent) from the Memphis and Dallas for the last two playoff spots in the West. The the new year. New York won its third straight and moved percentage foul line. Suns would lose the tiebreaker the way it stood Wednesday night. points ahead of Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East Phoenix used a 22-5 run to lead 91-74 with 1:49 left in the third when the Hawks lost to the Bulls. Pacers 101, Pistons 94 period and was up 91-78 entering the fourth. Griffin had been list- The Knicks made 24 of 36 shots in taking a 63-38 halftime time in had 27 points and 13 rebounds, scored ed as doubtful for the game with back spasms. Ex-Sun front of new president Phil Jackson, finishing at a season-high 60 per- 15 points and Indiana ended a three-game skid with its win over made two free throws with 8.1 seconds to play to clinch the cent and outrebounding Brooklyn 41-23. Joe Johnson scored 16 Detroit. George hit a 3-pointer from 35-feet to give the Pacers a 94-90 Clippers’ fourth victory in a row and 17th in 19 games. points for the Nets, who had won three straight. lead with 3:19 remaining and Indiana never trailed the rest of the way. Goran Dragic and Gerald Green scored 15 points apiece for the Josh Smith had 24 points and five rebounds and Greg Monroe added Suns, but Dragic was just 2 of 11 from the field, 0 of 5 from 3-point Raptors 107, Rockets 103 16 points for the Pistons, who have lost four of their last five games. range. P.J. Tucker, whose rebounding was a big factor in the Suns’ DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, Jonas Valanciunas and Greivis Brandon Jennings hit a 3 to get Detroit within 94-93 before third-quarter run, had 10 points and 11 rebounds. With Griffin and Vasquez each had 15, helping Toronto win its seventh straight home George scored, forced a turnover and West hit a jumper to give the Paul on the bench, the Clippers scored 11 in a row early in the meeting with Houston. Terrence Ross scored 14 points and John Pacers a 98-93 lead with 1:35 left to play. fourth quarter - the last five by - to cut Phoenix’s lead Salmons had 12 as the short-handed Raptors won for the fourth time to 92-85. Dudley’s 3-pointer with 5:57 to go cut it to 97-94. Dudley’s in five games. James Harden scored 26 points and Chandler Parsons Bobcats 123, 76ers 93 two free throws put Los Angeles ahead 105-104 with 2:38 left. Eric had 20 for the Rockets, who lost their third straight after winning the Al Jefferson had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Charlotte past Bledsoe’s 9-foot floater gave the Suns their last lead 106-105 with previous five. The Rockets hurt themselves by missing eight of 30 free and closer to a playoff berth. added 15 2:15 left. throw attempts, including five misses in the fourth quarter. points for the Bobcats (37-38), who have the seventh-best record in Phoenix’s defense was strong on the next possession, and just Jeremy Lin scored 16 points and Donatas Motiejunas had 13 for the Eastern Conference. They entered 41/2 games ahead of the ninth- before the clock was to expire, Paul let hit from far beyond the arc. the Rockets, who could have clinched a playoff spot with a win and a place and needed four wins in the final eight games Griffin’s basket with 49.5 seconds left made it 110-106. loss by either Memphis or Phoenix. to clinch their first playoff berth since 2010. Bledsoe scored on the layup to cut it to 110-108. The Bobcats raced to a 13-point lead in the first quarter, stretched The Suns had a chance to tie it, but Collison blocked Bledsoe’s Heat 96, Bucks 77 it to 35 and never once let the Sixers threaten. Michael Carter-Williams layup from behind. The ball went out of bounds off the Suns and LeBron James scored 17 points, added 15 and Miami scored 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting for the Sixers. They have lost Dudley’s free throws iced the win. The Suns broke away from a 69- stayed atop the Eastern Conference with a win over Milwaukee.Mario two straight since snapping an NBA-record tying 26-game losing 69 tie with their 22-5 outburst. Tucker had three rebound baskets in Chalmers added 14 for the Heat, who never trailed despite again streak on Saturday. the run. He was fouled on his final one, capping the big run with a being without , and Ray Allen. The win kept three-point play that gave Phoenix its biggest lead, 91-74, with 1:49 left in the period. The Clippers scored the next four to trail 91-78 entering the fourth. Phoenix led 62-60 at the break.

Washington 118, Boston 92 The are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008, clinching an Eastern Conference berth Wednesday night with a 118-92 win over the Boston Celtics. Marcin Gortat scored 22 points to lead the Wizards, who gathered for a celebrato- ry huddle at midcourt after the final whistle. , the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick playing the first meaningful late-season games of his career, added 13 points and 10 assists. The Wizards’ playoff position had been relatively secure for several weeks in the weakened East, but seeing the magic number reach zero was a milestone worth noting for a franchise whose win totals since their last postseason appearance have been 19, 26, 23, 20 and 29 - never finishing better than 24 games below .500. Jared Sullinger had 25 points, and Rajon Rondo had 13 to lead the Celtics.

Spurs 111, Warriors 90 Tony Parker had 18 points and eight assists, while Tim Duncan had 15 points and eight rebounds as San Antonio extended its fran- chise-record winning streak to 19 games. San Antonio (59-16) extended its league-leading record to four games over the Thunder City (54-19) ahead of their matchup Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Spurs coach was able to rest his core players with his team leading by as many as 26 points and never trailing after the opening three minutes. Marreese Speights scored 22 points and fellow reserve Jordan Crawford added 16 points for PHOENIX: Phoenix Suns guard Gerald Green (14) drives against Los Angeles Clippers forward Jared Dudley, rear; for- Golden State. had 15 points and 11 ward Hedo Turkoglu, , of Turkey; and guard Willie Green, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, for the Warriors, who were playing on the second night of back-to- Wednesday, in Phoenix. The Clippers won 112-108. — AP back games. Miami percentage points (52-22) ahead of Indiana (53-23) in the East. Timberwolves 102, Grizzlies 88 Bulls 105, Hawks 92 Ramon Sessions scored 19 points for Milwaukee, which got 14 Kevin Love had 24 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his third D.J. Augustin scored 23 points as Chicago bumped slumping from , 11 from Brandon Knight and 10 from John Henson. career triple-double as Minnesota dealt Memphis a loss it could ill Atlanta out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with grabbed 16 rebounds in 26 minutes for the NBA-worst afford. Ricky Rubio had 14 points, seven assists and three steals and two weeks left in the season. Chicago took control with a 16-3 run Bucks, who have now had 11 games this season in which they never Kevin Martin scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who are trying to in the second quarter and led the rest of the way, fending off the led. The Bucks fell to 14-61 with seven games remaining and are now play spoiler down the stretch of what has been a disappointing sea- last of Atlanta’s runs when Jimmy Butler swished a 3-pointer with only one loss away from tying the franchise record for most defeats in son. had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the just over a minute remaining. The Hawks lost for the 21st time in 28 a season. Grizzlies. But Zach Randolph had just four points on 1-for-8 shooting games, this one dropping them slightly behind New York for the and Memphis dropped a game that coach Dave Joerger called a eighth playoff seed. The Knicks (33-43) routed Brooklyn 110-81 to CAVALIERS 119, MAGIC 98 must-win before tipoff. climb percentage points ahead of Atlanta (32-42). Cleveland is also Dion Waiters scored 26 points, and Tristan The Grizzlies (44-31) entered in seventh place in the jam-packed in the mix after beating Orlando. Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 22 Thompson had 20 each, and Cleveland beat Orlando. Western Conference, but with Phoenix (44-30) and Dallas (44-31) all in points. added 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds in his first game back the mix for the last two spots. — Agencies