Wizards 109 (27-46), Raptors 92 (27-46)
Brad Beal hit a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points off the bench and John Wall finished with 18 points and 10 dimes to lead the Wizards over the Raptors. Toronto fell behind by as many as 2o and struggled on offense, shooting under 40 percent from the field for the game. The Wizards have now won seven straight home games and have a lot to look forward to heading into the offseason. Emeka Okafor finished with 19 points and 10 boards and Kevin Seraphin scored 13 off the bench. Jonas Valanciunas scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Toronto.
Hornets 112 (26-48), Cavs 92 (22-50)
Kyrie Irving returned from injury and scored a game-high 31 points but Greivis Vasquez and Anthony Davis spoiled the return of Cleveland’s franchise point guard. The two young Hornet centerpieces combined for 42 points and dominated in the second half as the Hornets outscored Cleveland 64-43 over the third and fourth quarters. Individually, Vasquez finished with 25 points and 9 dimes while Davis scored 17 and grabbed 13 boards. The Cavs have now lost eight straight.
Bulls 95 (40-32), Pistons 94 (24-50)
Last night’s one point win over the Pistons marked the 18th straight time the Bulls have defeated Detroit–a streak that dates back to December 23, 2008. The Pistons led this one by as many as 13 in the first quarter and were up by six in the fourth. But Luol Deng, who has been playing great as of late, took over in the final twelve minutes, scoring 13 of his game-high 28 points to lead the Bulls to a close victory. The Bulls now sit in fifth place in the East and are battling with the Hawks and Celtics to hold onto that spot. Jimmy Butler scored 16 points and Nate Robinson scored 16 off the bench. Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 25 points off the bench and Greg Monroe finished with 18 points and 10 boards.
Heat 88 (58-16), Spurs 86 (55-18)
With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers all catching some much deserved rest, it was Chris Bosh who stepped up and led the Heat to a dub over the Spurs. Bosh scored 23 points and hit the game winning 3-pointer. Trailing 86-85 with time running out, coach Spo drew up a play for Ray Allen. The Spurs sniffed it out and double teamed Jesus Shuttlesworth. But instead of panicking, Allen found a wide open Bosh at the top of the key. Bosh nailed the three with 1.1 seconds left and the Heat got a huge late season road victory with two of their stars on the bench. Allen scored 14 off the bench and Norris Cole scored 13. Kawhi Leonard scored 17 and grabbed 11 boards while Tim Duncan also scored 17 and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Knicks 108 (46-26), Celtics 89 (38-35)
For the first time since the 2003-’04 season, the Knicks won the regular season series over their longtime division foe Celtics. The Knicks are now up by 4.5 games over the Nets in the Atlantic Division and are gunning for one of the top four seeds in the East and home court advantage in the Playoffs. The Knicks went up 65-48 after a buzzer beating 3-pointer from Ray Felton ended the half and never looked back as they cruised to victory. Melo scored 24 points and grabbed 10 boards, Chris Copeland scored 22 points in 20 minutes, and J.R. Smith finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24 points, 15 boards and 5 assists.
