NBA
April 7, 2018

Post Up: Sixers And Raptors Both Earn Huge Wins

76ers 132 (49-30), Cavaliers 130 (49-31)

With postseason implications abound, the 76ers held off the Cavs in a thriller. With the win, Philly overtakes Cleveland for the 3 seed in the East, leading the Cavs for that spot by half a game with three to play. The story in this game was the two stars, Ben Simmons and LeBron James, who each poured on triple-doubles. Simmons nearly had one at the half as the Sixers raced out to a 23-point lead at the break. He finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists. LeBron had 44-11-and-11, as well as this dunk:

Raptors 92 (57-22), Pacers 73 (47-33)

This was more than just a 19-point win for the Raptors — it gave Toronto a franchise-record 57 wins on the season and locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Serge Ibaka scored a season-high 25 points to lead the Raptors, while DeMar DeRozan had 12 points and eight assists. On the other end, Indiana had a miserable game offensively, shooting under 30 percent with no starters reaching double figures in scoring. Glen Robinson III‘s 12 points were a team high.

Pistons 113 (38-41), Mavericks 106 (24-56) (OT)

Johnathan Motley‘s three with 10 seconds to go sent the game to overtime, but Reggie Jackson outscored the Mavericks in OT to lead the Pistons to the win. Jackson scored six in overtime and 24 overall to pace Detroit, while Andre Drummond had a typical one of performances with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Motley had 26 for Dallas.

Hornets 137 (35-45), Magic 100 (24-55)

Malik Monk scored 26 points and Frank Kaminsky had 21 to lead the Hornets in a contest that was never close. With both teams long out of the playoff race, the Magic used the game as an opportunity to give some of their younger guys some work. Though D.J. Augustin led Orlando with 19, Jamel Artis, Khem Birch, and Rodney Purvis each had 12.

Hawks 103 (23-57), Wizards 97 (42-38)

The Wizards picked the worst time to go into a slump. With their fourth-straight loss, Washington has fallen into the 8 seed in the Eastern Conference race with just two games to play. They led by six midway through the fourth quarter before the Hawks went on an 11-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. Taurean Prince had six points in that stretch and led the Hawks with 23 points. Bradley Beal had 32 for the Wizards.

Knicks 122 (28-51), Heat 98 (43-37)

Damyean Dotson had the best game of his young career, scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead the Knicks in a rout of the Heat. Luke Kornet also had a career high with 17 of his own. Despite the loss, Miami is still a half game ahead of the Bucks for sixth in the East with two games remaining. Goran Dragic led the Heat with 15 points.

Celtics 111 (54-25), Bulls 104 (27-52)

With Kyrie Irving out for the rest of the year and Al Horford and Jayson Tatum given a night off, the Celtics had to turn to some unlikely sources to beat the Bulls. Greg Monroe came off the bench to score 19 points, grab 11 rebounds, and hand out 10 assists, and Jabari Bird scored 15 more. Jaylen Brown led the way with 32 points on 7-10 shooting from three. Sean Kilpatrick had 24 for the Bulls.

Kings 94 (26-54), Grizzlies 93 (21-58)

Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a pull-up jumper with just over a second to go to lift the Kings over the Grizzlies in a game that featured five lead changes in the final minute. Bogdanovic’s shot came just seconds after Dillon Brooks had put the Grizzlies ahead on a three, which came 10 seconds after Justin Jackson put the Kings up with a three. MarShon Brooks had 23 to lead all scorers and Willie Cauley-Stein had 18 for the Kings.

Pelicans 122 (45-34), Suns 103 (20-60)

Anthony Davis scored 33 points and 11 rebounds and Nikola Mirotic had 31-and-16 as the Pelicans have now won consecutive games after a four-game skid the last couple weeks. Marquese Chriss had 23 and Josh Jackson scored 22 to lead the Suns. The Pelicans, Spurs, and Thunder are now tied for the 5 seed in the West.

Timberwolves 113 (45-35), Lakers 96 (34-45)

With the Timberwolves fighting for their playoff lives, Jeff Teague came through with 25 points and eight assists to lead Minnesota over the Lakers. The Timberwolves are now half a game ahead of the Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the West, but are somehow still only a game and a half out of the 4 spot. This was their final road game of the regular season and will finish with home games against Memphis and Denver. Josh Hart and Julius Randle each had 20 for the Lakers.

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