The Cleveland Cavaliers won their 46th game of the season last night and became the first team in the Eastern conference to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Strong Cavs down Lakers
The defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers flexed their muscles in Los Angeles and beat the Lakers 125-120. Kyrie Irving had 46 points, LeBron James had 34 points, six rebounds and seven assists, Kevin Love had a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double, and Tristan Thompson finished with 10 rebounds and four points.
D‘Angelo Russell led the Lakers with a career-high 40 points and six assists, Jordan Clarkson had 19 points and six assists, and Brandon Ingram had 18 points and six rebounds.
Spurs dethrone Kings
A focused San Antonio Spurs came back from being down by two points at the half, to defeating the Sacramento Kings 118-102. Pau Gasol was one rebound short of a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Tony Parker had 16 points and seven assists.
The Kings were led by Buddy Hield with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, Willie Couley-Stein had 18 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Garret Temple finished with 15 points and four assists.
Blazers too hot for the Heat
Damian Lillard became the first Trail Blazer to record 1,000 3-pointers. He had nine threes last night and finished with 49 points and led Portland past the Miami Heat 115-104. Jusuf Nurkic had a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, and CJ McCollum had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.
James Johnson led the Heat with 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Hassan Whiteside had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Goran Dragic ended the game with 17 points and four rebounds.
Raptors too good for Pacers
The Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers 116-91 on the back of DeMar DeRozan’s 22 points and four assists, Congolese forward Serge Ibaka had 16 points and five rebounds, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Paul George had 18 points and four rebounds for the Pacers, Jeff Teague had 16 points and seven assists, while Thaddeus Young ended the game with 16 points and four rebounds.
Pelicans tame Timberwolves
The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-109. Anthony Davis had a 28-point, 12-rebound double-double, Jordan Crawford had 22 points, Jrue Holiday had 21 points and seven assists, and DeMarcus Cousins also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Timberwolves were led by Karl-Anthony Towns with 33 points and six rebounds, Andrew Wiggins had 25 points, Shabazz Muhammad had 20 points and six rebounds, Ricky Rubio had a 10-point, 14-assist double-double, and Senegalese center Gorgui Dieng had nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Rest
The Philadelphia 76ers stunned the Boston Celtics with some great plays and beat them 105-99, the young Phoenix Suns came out blazing but could not sustain their efforts for four quarters and fell 95-112 to the Detroit Pistons and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Nets 111-104 in Brooklyn.
By Kaunda Chama
