National Basketball Association Game Capsules

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Blake Griffin scored 27 points and handed out nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-101 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. DeAndre Jordan had 21 points nine rebounds and seven blocks and Chris Paul posted a near triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Clippers, who are locked into the third spot in the Western Conference. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 12 rebounds and Rudy Gay scored 16 points for the Kings, losers in five straight.

Final Score: Charlotte 111, Philadelphia 105

Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Al Jefferson scored 29 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 111-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. Playing without Kemba Walker because of a sore groin, Charlotte relied on a collective effort to dispatch one of the NBA’s worst teams. Gerald Henderson netted 14 points, while Luke Ridnour, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Cody Zeller each had 12 for the Bobcats. Michael Kidd- Gilchrist and Gary Neal added 10-apiece in the win. Charlotte remains one game behind Washington for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with two games for each team remaining. Michael Carter-Williams registered 23 points with eight assists and seven rebounds for Philadelphia, which lost for the fourth straight time. Thaddeus Young finished with 16 points and Henry Sims added 15 points and six rebounds in the setback.

Final Score: Washington 104, Milwaukee 91

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Bradley Beal led six Washington players in double figures with 26 points as the Wizards cruised to a 104-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. John Wall added 15 points and eight assists and Marcin Gortat finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, winners in four of their last six games. Trevor Ariza scored 13 points while Al Harrington and Trevor Booker finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win. The Wizards currently hold a one-game lead over the Charlotte Bobcats for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have two games remaining. Washington also trails the Brooklyn Nets by 1 1/2 games for the fifth spot in the East. Brooklyn has three games remaining. Ramon Sessions and Khris Middleton scored 20 points apiece, with Sessions also handing out eight assists, and John Henson donated 13 points and seven boards off the bench for the Bucks.

Final Score: Atlanta 98, Miami 85

Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Atlanta Hawks turned things around just in time to cement a playoff berth. They also might’ve been looking at their first-round opponent. Jeff Teague had 25 points and four steals and the Hawks beat the Miami Heat, 98-85, on Saturday night. Lou Williams netted 23 points for Atlanta, which was 25-21 on Feb. 4, but went into a 6-20 tailspin before winning six of its last eight games to clinch the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks, who tallied 29 points off 20 Miami turnovers, qualified for the postseason for a seventh straight season. Dwyane Wade, who had missed his last nine games due to a hamstring injury, scored 16 first-half points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting. He finished with 24 points on a 10-of-14 effort for the Heat, who are tied with the Indiana Pacers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James posted 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists in defeat.

Final Score: Boston 111, Cleveland 99

Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) – Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics snapped a 13-game road skid with a 111-99 drubbing of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. Olynyk also pulled down 12 rebounds, while Bradley made five of Boston’s 12 3-pointers. Jeff Green and Brandon Bass contributed 19 points apiece and Phil Pressey handed out 13 assists for the Celtics, who won back-to-back games for the first time in over a month. Saturday was the penultimate game for the Cavs, but they played like their season was already over as they hit just 31.8 percent of their shots over the first three quarter. Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Jarrett Jack all scored 15 points in the club’s fourth loss in its last five games.

Final Score: Houston 111, New Orleans 104

Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – James Harden scored 33 points with 13 assists and the Houston Rockets erased a 13-point halftime deficit, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, 111-104, on Saturday. Houston moved a game ahead of Portland for fourth place in the Western Conference with two games remaining for each team. Patrick Beverley scored 20 points in his return from an eight-game absence from a knee injury and Jeremy Lin added 18 points off the bench in the win. Dwight Howard also returned from an eight-game absence for the Rockets with an ankle injury and recorded 13 points with six rebounds in 29 minutes of action. The Pelicans were playing without Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans and Brian Roberts. Luke Babbitt posted a career-high 24 points, while Austin Rivers and Anthony Morrow added 20 points apiece in the setback, New Orleans’ eighth straight defeat.

Final Score: Dallas 101, Phoenix 98

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – The Dallas Mavericks are back in the postseason following a brief one-year absence. Monta Ellis had 37 points, Dirk Nowitzki netted 21 of his 23 in the second half and the Mavs topped the Phoenix Suns, 101-98, on Saturday night. Dallas trailed by as many as 13 early in the second half, but Nowitzki’s left-handed layup off a feed from Ellis with 6:42 to go staked it to its first lead, 88-87, since it was 35-34 with 7:28 remaining in the second. The Mavs built their advantage to 99-91 with 2:25 remaining, but Eric Bledsoe drove in for a layup, Markieff Morris sunk a pair of foul shots and Bledsoe’s three-point play whittled the deficit to 99-98 with 52.7 ticks on the clock. Vince Carter missed badly on a left wing 3-pointer, but Gerald Green was off the mark on a short jumper in transition at the other end. Ellis split a pair of free throws with 20.9 seconds showing to make it 100-98 and Brandan Wright blocked away Bledsoe’s driving layup on Phoenix’s next trip down the floor. Ellis, though, again split a pair, but Morris was way off the mark on a potentially tying triple in the waning seconds.

Final Score: Denver 101, Utah 94

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Kenneth Faried posted 24 points with a career-high 21 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets defeated the Utah Jazz, 101-94, on Saturday. Randy Foye netted a team-high 26 points and Evan Fournier came off the bench and supplied 23 for Denver, which has a three-game winning streak. Gordon Hayward paced Utah with 23 points, while Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors each recorded double-doubles. Kanter had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Favors added 13 points with 10 boards in the Jazz’s fourth straight setback.

Categorized in: NBA