MIAMI — Lou Williams scored 29 points, DeMar DeRozan added 24 and the Toronto Raptors put the Miami Heat on the brink of playoff elimination with a 107-104 victory Saturday night. ADVERTISING MIAMI — Lou Williams scored 29 points, DeMar
MIAMI — Lou Williams scored 29 points, DeMar DeRozan added 24 and the Toronto Raptors put the Miami Heat on the brink of playoff elimination with a 107-104 victory Saturday night.
Greivis Vasquez and Kyle Lowry each scored 12 points and Patrick Patterson had 11 for the Raptors, who clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Dwyane Wade scored 30 points for the Heat, who can only get to 37 wins — the number that Brooklyn and Boston are already at, putting them in the No. 7 and No. 8 spots in the Eastern Conference race. Goran Dragic scored 22 points for Miami and Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds.
But Whiteside also missed 12 free throws, going 4 for 16, and the Heat went 24 of 44 from the line.
Williams hit a 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds left to put the Raptors up by five, and that just about sealed not just the game but Miami’s playoff fate. The Heat must win their last two games, and get a ton of help to reach the postseason for the seventh straight year.
It was Toronto’s first road win over the Heat since Nov. 19, 2008, ending a 10-game slide on Miami’s home floor. The win was Toronto’s 48th of the season and 22nd on the road, both tying franchise records.
WARRIORS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 101
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 34 points in the first half, Klay Thompson made three 3-pointers in the final 4 minutes and Golden State set yet another franchise record.
The Warriors broke their franchise record with their 37th home win. They have lost only twice at home and lead the NBA with a 68-15 record.
Curry made five 3-pointers, went 11 of 21 from the floor and had seven assists to help the Warriors complete a four-game sweep of Minnesota. Thompson had 23 points, Draymond Green added 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points, six rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have dropped 10 straight to fall to 16-64.
KNICKS 80, MAGIC 79
ORLANDO, Fla. — Cole Aldrich had a career-high 19 points and New York beat Orlando in a game that had the lowest-scoring quarter in NBA history.
The teams combined to score only 15 points in the second quarter, breaking the record of 18. The previous NBA mark was accomplished three times, the last by Utah and Detroit on March 13, 2005.
The Knicks scored eight points in the quarter, shooting 3 for 20 from the field with a pair of turnovers. The Magic had seven points and were 3 for 19 from the field, with seven turnovers.
Aldrich also had 14 rebounds to help the Knicks win for the second time in 13 games. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 13 points, including a late 3-pointer that proved to the winner.
Victor Oladipo had 21 points for the Magic.
CLIPPERS 94, GRIZZLIES 86
LOS ANGELES — J.J. Redick and Blake Griffin scored 18 points each and Los Angeles pulled awayto beat Memphis, taking a step toward securing home-court advantage for the playoffs.
DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 16 rebounds and Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists to help the Clippers win their fifth in a row.
They could finish anywhere from second to sixth in the tightly bunched Western Conference. Wins in their last two games could allow the Clippers to open their fourth consecutive playoff appearance at home.
Zach Randolph had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who lost starter Marc Gasol to a sprained left ankle late in the first quarter.
JAZZ 111, TRAIL BLAZERS 105
PORTLAND, Ore. — Trevor Booker scored a career-high 36 points and Utah beat Portland.
Portland’s hopes of home-court advantage in the playoffs slipped away. The Blazers won the Northwest Division, but the four teams with the best records in each conference get home court in the post season and the Blazers can’t catch the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat Memphis on Saturday night.
Damian Lillard hit a short jumper to pull the Blazers to 101-99, and Robin Lopez’s layup tied it at 101 with 2:33 to go. Rodney Hood’s short jumper gave the Jazz back the lead, and Booker added a pair of free throws for a 105-101 Utah lead and the Blazers couldn’t catch up. Hood finished with 21 points.
Lillard led the Blazers with 28 points, and CJ McCollum had 26.
BULLS 114, 76ERS 107
CHICAGO — Pau Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Derrick Rose — in his third game back after missing two months following knee surgery — had 22 points and eight assists in 28 minutes in Chicago’s victory over Philadelphia.
The Bulls remained tied with Toronto for third place in the Eastern Conference with two games to go for each team.
The 76ers dressed just nine players, but stayed close with an aggressive, attacking style on both ends. Robert Covington led Philadelphia with 22 points, Jason Richardson had 19, and JaKarr Sampson 18.
