NBA roundup

March 26, 2015 12:00 am • Last Updated: March 27, 2015 3:34 am

Heat 93, Celtics 86

Miami was coming off a difficult loss at Milwaukee, and it was missing three key players due to injuries from the game against the Bucks.

Goran Dragic knew what he had to do.

Dragic had 22 points and seven assists, and the banged-up Heat beat Boston on Wednesday night.

"When one of the main guys is out, all of the other guys have to step in," he said. "That was my mentality before the game that I have to carry this team. We accomplished that. We won."

Luol Deng scored 15 points for Miami, and Udonis Haslem had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Henry Walker and Tyler Johnson also scored 12 points apiece.

Miami played without Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside and Chris Andersen, but bounced back quite nicely from Tuesday night's disappointing 89-88 loss at Milwaukee. The Heat blew a 14-point lead in the final 6 1/2 minutes against the Bucks.

"The example he set tonight, constantly hitting the floor for loose balls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Dragic, "it set the tone and the example for everybody else. That's probably what would decide this game. It was pretty ugly there in the fourth, but those loose balls and the extra rebounds where what really decided it."

Miami (33-38) has won four of six and is seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Jae Crowder scored 16 points and Avery Bradley had 12 for the Celtics, who remained in the East's eighth and final playoff position.

"We came out real flat and they took advantage of that," Boston guard Marcus Smart said.

Wade, who averages a team-high 21.6 points, was sidelined by a swollen left knee. Whiteside received 10 stitches on his right hand after he was cut in the second quarter against the Bucks, and Andersen was out with a bruised left calf.

But Miami led by 17 at halftime against Boston and carried an 82-62 advantage into the final period.

"In the fourth quarter they played with great emotion and hard as heck and got us back into it, but then we just didn't make very good decisions or play with poise late, which sometimes happens when you're trying to mount a furious comeback," Boston coach Brad Stevens said.

Just like in Tuesday's game against Milwaukee, the Heat became passive in the fourth, taking their time with most offensive possessions, and the Celtics mounted a charge.

"We were fantastic the first three quarters," Dragic said "I don't know if it was fatigue or we were thinking it would be like the last one."

Boston (31-40) closed it to 89-83 with 2 minutes left. But the Heat closed it out at the line.

Dragic scored 17 points in the first half to help Miami to a 57-40 lead at the break. The Heat finished the second quarter with a 9-2 run.

Dragic and Boston's Isaiah Thomas were teammates in Phoenix, but both were dealt at the trade deadline after being part of a messy three point-guard mix with the Suns.

<hardreturn>Clippers 111, Knicks 80 <hardreturn>DeAndre Jordan raised the NBA’s best shooting percentage above 71 percent by making all seven shots and scoring 14 points, and Los Angeles pounded New York. <hardreturn>Shooting all night from either right at or above the rim — and once right on top of Jason Smith — Jordan hiked his season average to .713, which would be second only to Wilt Chamberlain’s .727 in 1972-73. <hardreturn>Chris Paul added 11 points and 16 assists for the Clippers, who won their fifth straight. Austin Rivers scored 21 points in 19 minutes off the bench. <hardreturn>The only negative for Jordan was grabbing only 10 rebounds — the Clipper starters played less than 30 minutes — to end his streak of games with at least 14 rebounds at 19. <hardreturn>Rookie Cleanthony Early had a season-high 18 points for the Knicks, who lost their fifth straight and moved a loss away from matching the franchise single-season record. <hardreturn>The Knicks are 14-58, just two seasons after winning 54 games and reaching the second round of the playoffs under Mike Woodson. <hardreturn>Woodson was fired after last season by Phil Jackson after going 109-79 with two playoff berths in 2½ seasons and is now an assistant to Clippers coach Doc Rivers. <hardreturn>Woodson’s new team outclassed his overmatched old one right from the tip. Paul had nine assists after one quarter — the Knicks had only seven baskets — and the Clippers poured it on in the second period. Jordan’s ferocious dunk over Smith with 3.6 seconds left made it 63-33 at halftime.

<hardreturn>Nets 91, Hornets 88 <hardreturn>Brook Lopez had 34 points and 10 rebounds and Brooklyn handed slumping Charlotte its fifth loss in six games. <hardreturn>The 7-foot center came into the game on a tear, having scored at least 26 points in each of his last three games, including 31 on Monday night against Boston. <hardreturn>Deron Williams had 10 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Nets. <hardreturn>Nets forward Thaddeus Young left the game late in the third quarter with a hyperextended knee and did not return. Team officials said X-rays were negative and he will be re-evaluated today. <hardreturn>Gerald Henderson and Al Jefferson each had 23 points for the Hornets.

<hardreturn>Cavaliers 111, Grizzlies 89 <hardreturn>Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, Kevin Love added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Cleveland rolled to a victory over Memphis. <hardreturn>LeBron James finished with 20 points and Timofey Mozgov added 14 for Cleveland, which won its fourth straight and eighth in its last nine. J.R. Smith had 13 points for Cleveland, which shot 51 percent and was 14 of 34 from 3-point range. <hardreturn>Marc Gasol led Memphis with 18 points, while Beno Udrih scored 15. Jeff Green had 11 points for Memphis.

<hardreturn>Hawks 95, Magic 83 <hardreturn>Paul Millsap had 25 points and 11 rebounds and Atlanta snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Orlando. <hardreturn>Jeff Teague added 16 points, despite spraining his left ankle in the first quarter. <hardreturn>The Hawks trailed by 13 in the first half, but outscored the Magic 27-12 in the fourth quarter. <hardreturn>Elfrid Payton led the Magic with 19 points and nine rebounds. Victor Oladipo and Nik Vucevic added 16 points apiece.

<hardreturn>Bulls 116, Raptors 103 <hardreturn>Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Pau Gasol had 18 and Chicago beat Toronto. <hardreturn>Tony Snell scored 17 points to help the Bulls move 1 1/2 games ahead of the Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. Aaron Brooks had 16 points, and Nikola Mirotic finished with 15. <hardreturn>Toronto has dropped three of four. It has lost five in a row to Chicago. <hardreturn>Greivis Vasquez had 22 points for the Raptors, and DeMar DeRozan added 20. Vasquez also matched a career high with six 3-pointers.

<hardreturn>Pacers 103 Wizards 101 <hardreturn>George Hill made a driving layup with 2.7 seconds left to lift Indiana past Washington, snapping the Pacers’ six-game losing streak. <hardreturn>Hill scored 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter as Indiana rallied from a 10-point deficit. <hardreturn>Washington’s John Wall, who scored 17 of his season-high 34 points in the final quarter, tied the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 11 seconds left.

<hardreturn>Lakers 101, Timberwolves 99 (OT) <hardreturn>Jordan Clarkson hit two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in overtime to send Los Angeles over Minnesota. <hardreturn>Clarkson scored eight points in overtime and finished with 20. Jeremy Lin added 19 points for the Lakers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak. <hardreturn>Andrew Wiggins had 27 points for Minnesota. <hardreturn>Chase Budinger scored 22 and sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in regulation as the Timberwolves erased a 13-point, second-half deficit.

<hardreturn>Rockets 95, Pelicans 93 <hardreturn>James Harden had 25 points and 10 assists, Dwight Howard had seven rebounds and a block on Anthony Davis in his return from a two-month absence, and Houston handed New Orleans its fourth straight loss. <hardreturn>Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans, but uncharacteristically missed eight free throws, including one that could have pulled New Orleans to 94-93 with 7 seconds left. <hardreturn>The Pelicans still had a chance to set up a trying 3-pointer after Harden missed a free throw with 3.3 seconds left, but Corey Brewer intentionally fouled Eric Gordon on the inbounds pass to force free throws. Gordon made the first and purposely missed the second in hopes for a tying putback that never materialized.

<hardreturn>Kings 108, Suns 99 <hardreturn>DeMarcus Cousins scored 24 points, all but four in the first three quarters, and had 11 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Phoenix. <hardreturn>Cousins also had three assists, two steals and a block, and Rudy Gay scored 14 points for the Kings. They have won four straight. <hardreturn>Markieff Morris scored 24 points, and Eric Bledsoe and Marcus Morris added 19 each for the Suns. <hardreturn>Phoenix squandered an opportunity to make up a game on eighth-place Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. The Thunder were routed at San Antonio. Phoenix trails Oklahoma City by three games for the West's final playoff spot.

<hardreturn>Trail Blazers 92, Jazz 89 <hardreturn>Damian Lillard had 23 points and 12 assists and Portland overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Utah. <hardreturn>Lillard helped Portland snap a five-game losing streak, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points. LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and nine rebounds. <hardreturn>Derrick Favors led Utah with 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Trey Burke added 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting.

<hardreturn>76ers 99, Nuggets 85 <hardreturn>Rookie Robert Covington tied a career high with 25 points and Philadelphia beat Denver. Nerlens Noel had 14 points and 15 rebounds to help the 76ers sweep the season series. <hardreturn>Ty Lawson scored 19 points, and Wilson Chandler had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets. <hardreturn>Covington, who also tied a career high with six 3-pointers, scored 15 points in a 6:16 span of the third quarter to give Philadelphia a 66-62 lead.

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