Thunder 108, Rockets 102

Oklahoma adopted a simple mantra for Saturday's game against Houston with its playoff fate still up in the air.

"We just better not lose," Paul George said.

For one night at least, it worked.

George and Russell Westbrook each scored 24 points, and Oklahoma City snapped Houston's 20-game home winning streak with a victory.

The Thunder were down one with about seven minutes left before scoring the next 11 points.

Oklahoma City (46-34) is tied with San Antonio and New Orleans for fifth in the loaded Western Conference, a half-game behind idle Utah. The Thunder can clinch a playoff spot with a victory at Miami on Monday.

"This game was important but the Monday game is just as important as this game because if we don't take care of business Monday then this game doesn't really mean anything," said Carmelo Anthony, who had 22 points.

The Thunder took two of three in the season series against the NBA-best Rockets.

James Harden had 26 points for Houston, and Chris Paul added 17.

"I thought we tasted the playoff atmosphere because these guys are fighting for their lives and we're not," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It's human nature, there's no reward in winning."

Paul hit a step-back jumper and Gerald Green scored to give the Rockets a 92-91 lead with 7:09 left. But Westbrook scored five quick points to start an 11-0 run by Oklahoma City that made it 102-92 with about four minutes remaining.

Houston went scoreless for more than four minutes, missing seven shots and committing three turnovers as Oklahoma City pulled away. The Thunder also blocked three shots in that span.

"Just doing what you've got to do to win, honestly," said Westbrook (10 assists).

The Rockets scored five straight points with less than a minute left to get within five, but George made two free throws to help secure the win.

Anthony made three of the Thunder's 10 3-pointers. He said it was important for them to be in attack mode right from the start.

"It was one of those days, understanding the situation that we're in and just trying to be aggressive out there on both ends and go after it from the beginning," he said.

The Thunder led by as many as 11 in the first half, but Houston used a 5-1 spurt take a 62-61 lead at halftime.

Bucks 115, Knicks 102

If the easier road in the Eastern Conference is from seventh place instead of sixth, Milwaukee isn't interested in taking it.

It knows it isn't going to get the right playoff mindset by losing.

"If you have that mentality it kind of carries over to the postseason and you become a complacent basketball player," forward Jabari Parker said.

Eric Bledsoe had 22 points and 10 assists, and the Bucks moved into a tie for sixth place in the East with a victory over New York.

Khris Middleton also scored 22 points for the Bucks, who joined Miami with a 43-37 record. The Heat were blown out by the Knicks at Madison Square Garden a night earlier, but the Bucks avoided the same fate despite playing without All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a sore right ankle.

The No. 6 seed would be looking at facing Philadelphia, which has won 13 straight games, or LeBron James and Cleveland. The team that ends up seventh draws a second-seeded Boston team that has lost All-Star guard Kyrie Irving for the season.

"They got a great a basketball team and a great coach," Bledsoe said. "Obviously they're missing a couple of key players but at the same time they were playing well without those guys in the lineup."

Parker made his second start of the season in Antetokounmpo's place and finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. John Henson had 15 points and 12 boards for the Bucks, who hoped to get point guard Malcolm Brogdon back but will have to wait a little longer as they try to become the dangerous team they think they can be.

"We know how good we can be and we've shown it," coach Joe Prunty said. "We've shown it in games and over stretches of games, but similar to what we were talking about earlier, we have also had lulls or games where we haven't played as well as we'd like to or need to, and that's what we're trying to build on every day."

Jarrett Jack scored 18 points and Kyle O'Quinn had 15 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four blocks for the Knicks, who beat Miami 122-98 on Friday but fell short in their hopes of beating another playoff-bound team.

The Knicks were without Tim Hardaway Jr. (sprained left ankle), Enes Kanter (lower back, right wrist) and Emmanuel Mudiay (concussion). Michael Beasley started after leaving Friday's game with a bruised left knee.

Jack was the starter earlier in the season before falling out of the rotation entirely while the Knicks turned to young guards Trey Burke, Frank Ntilikina and Mudiay.

"The job is 82 games," Jack said. "If you're not in, you cheer for everybody else. But if he calls your number, be ready to come in there and be ready to come in there and contribute as best you can."

The game was close most of the way until the Bucks, trailing by one, took control with a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter. Middleton's basket gave Milwaukee the lead for good, Tony Snell and Parker made 3-pointers, and Bledsoe made four free throws as the Bucks surged to a 106-95 advantage with 2:17 to play.

Snell left a little more than five minutes into the game when he turned an ankle when he stepped on a teammate's foot while chasing a Knicks player around a screen. He returned in the second quarter and had 10 points.

New York coach Jeff Hornacek said he expected that Kanter and Hardaway would play again this season if healthy, refusing to rule them out for the final two games. "Those guys are all competitors and that's what we like about them," Hornacek said.

Nuggets 134, Clippers 115

Will Barton scored 31 points, Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and Denver earned its fifth consecutive victory.

Denver (45-35) pulled into a tie with Minnesota for eighth in the Western Conference with two games to play. The Nuggets visit the Timberwolves for their season finale on Wednesday night.

Lou Williams scored 24 points for the Clippers (42-38), who were eliminated from playoff contention. DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 17 rebounds.

Pelicans 126, Warriors 120

Anthony Davis had 34 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, and New Orleans snapped a 10-game losing streak to Golden State.

The Pelicans beat the Warriors for the first time since April 7, 2015, in New Orleans, and at Oracle Arena for the first time since April 24, 2012.

Golden State star Kevin Durant scored 19 of his 41 points in the third quarter. Durant also finished with 10 rebounds and five assists.

Quinn Cook, who has been an admirable fill-in for the injured Stephen Curry after his promotion from the G League, added 21 points in the Warriors' final regular-season home game.

Nikola Mirotic had 28 points for the Pelicans, and Rajon Rondo dished out 17 assists.

Spurs 116, Trail Blazers 105

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points to help San Antonio stop a two-game losing streak.

The Spurs (46-34) are tied with Oklahoma City and New Orleans for fifth in the Western Conference, a half-game back of idle Utah.

San Antonio can clinch a playoff spot with a victory over visiting Sacramento on Monday.

Portland (48-32) dropped its third consecutive game and missed out on an opportunity to clinch home-court advantage in the first round. Damian Lillard had 33 points for the Trail Blazers, and Evan Turner finished with 18.

Nets 124, Bulls 96

Quincy Acy scored 21 points, and Brooklyn set a franchise record by making 24 3-pointers.

The Nets finished one 3-pointer shy of the NBA record set last season by Cleveland. Acy made six 3s, and Allen Crabbe hit 5 of 13 from deep on his way to 20 points.

Brooklyn got its fourth road win in its last five games.

Sean Kilpatrick led Chicago with 20 points, and Bobby Portis had 18 points and eight rebounds.