Eight games came with eight times the excitement in the NBA last night as the Boston Celtics clinched the second playoffs spot in the East on their day off, following losses by the Chicago Bills and Detroit Pistons, and Stephen Curry passed Ray Allen for fifth-most 3-pointers in a single season.
Warriors take Dallas
With just three 3-pointers made in the Golden State Warriors’ 112-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks last night, Stephen Curry now owns four of the top-five spots on the list of most threes made in a season. He finished with 17 points, five rebounds and nine assists, Klay Thompson had 23 points, and Ian Clark 18 points and four rebounds.
The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki with 16 points and nine rebounds, Narlens Noel had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Yogi Farrell finished with 12 points and four assists.
Clippers win Battle Los Angeles
The LA Clippers were victorious in the clash of the Los Angeles teams after beating the Lakers 133-109. Chris Paul had 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, JJ Redick 24 points, Austin Rivers 18 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Luc Mbah a Moute had a slow night with one point, two rebounds and one assist.
Rookie Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 21 points and five rebounds, Julius Randle had 19 points and seven rebounds, and D ‘Angelo Russell 18 points and five assists.
Bucks trample Blazers
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 93-90 on the back of Khris Middleton’s 26 points, Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Greg Monroe ended the game with nine points and nine rebounds.
Portland were led by Damian Lillard with 31 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals, CJ McCollum had 21 points, and Jusuf Nurkic an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double. Nigerian forward Al-Farouq Aminu finished with seven rebounds and two points.
Spurs down Timberwolves
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-93. LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and five rebounds, Kawhi Leonard 22 points and four assists, and Pau Gasol 11 points and six rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a 25-point, 14-rebound double-double for Minnesota, Andrew Wiggins 22 points, four rebounds and four assists, Shabazz Muhammad 18 points and four rebounds, while Senegalese center Gorgui Dieng finished with nine points and four rebounds.
Pelicans peck Grizzlies
DeMarcus Cousins put up a 41-point, 17-rebound double-double in the New Orleans Pelicans 95-82 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Anthony Davis had a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double and Jrue Holiday 11 points and six assists.
The Grizzlies were led by Mike Conley with 16 points and six rebounds, Tony Daniels had 12 points and JaMychal Green also finished with 12 points.
The Rest
Hassan Whiteside’s 23-point, 14-rebound double-double gave the Miami Heat a 112-97 win over the Phoenix Suns, some clutch play by Brook Lopez helped the Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons 98-96, and a heated encounter ended in the Raptors beating the Chicago Bulls 122-120 in Toronto.
By Kaunda Chama
