Heat Clinch Final Eastern Playoff Spot

NBA

Alonzo Mourning scored 28 points as the Miami Heat clinched the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 106-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at Milwaukee.

Miami is a game ahead of Charlotte with one game left for each team. But the Heat would have the tiebreaker advantage over the Hornets should they both finish 42-40 because of a better conference record.

Heat 106, Bucks 100

Miami (106) - Thomas 4-5 2-2 10, Williams 3-5 0-4 8, Mourning 11-16 6-8 28, Chapman 5-11 2-4 14, Hardaway 6-14 2-5 17, Gatling 3-6 4-4 10, Askins 3-7 0-0 8, Smith 5-10 0-2 11, Corbin 0-0 0-0 0, Schayes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-75 16-29 106.

Milwaukee (100) - Baker 6-13 5-7 17, Robinson 9-17 9-9 28, Cummings 1-4 1-2 3, Douglas 7-10 1-3 17, Newman 6-10 0-2 12, Benjamin 1-4 0-0 2, Respert 1-6 2-2 5, Conlon 4-7 8-8 16, Mayberry 0-0 0-0 0, Keys 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-71 26-33 100.

Miami 31 27 23 25 - 106

Milwaukee 31 25 21 23 - 100

3-Point goals-Miami 10-23 (Hardaway 3-5, Chapman 2-3, Williams 2-4, Askins 2-6, Smith 1-5), Milwaukee 4-13 (Douglas 2-4, Respert 1-3, Robinson 1-4, Newman 0-1, Conlon 0-1). Fouled out-Thomas. Rebounds-Miami 48 (Mourning 9), Milwaukee 43 (Baker 11). Assists-Miami 28 (Hardaway 19), Milwaukee 19 (Douglas 10). Total fouls-Miami 26, Milwaukee 24. Technicals-Newman, Gatling. A-18,633 (18,633).

Hornets 115, Knicks 108

New York

Charlotte did all it could to stay in the playoff race, overcoming Patrick Ewing’s first career triple-double in beating New York. But the victory didn’t matter because Miami beat Milwaukee later in the night.

Ewing had 28 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for New York’s first triple-double since 1991.

Charlotte (115) - Rice 9-16 0-0 21, Johnson 9-18 9-10 28, Parish 1-1 2-2 4, Curry 8-15 4-4 22, K.Anderson 3-8 5-6 12, Goldwire 5-6 0-0 12, Addison 2-3 0-0 4, Zidek 3-5 4-4 10, Hancock 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 41-75 24-26 115.

New York (108) - Mason 11-13 3-4 25, Reid 0-2 0-0 0, Ewing 10-26 8-9 28, Starks 6-14 2-2 18, Harper 6-13 2-4 16, Davis 3-5 0-0 7, Ward 1-2 0-0 2, W.Anderson 3-4 0-0 6, Williams 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 43-83 15-19 108.

Charlotte 27 31 24 33 - 115

New York 33 20 31 24 - 108

3-Point goals-Charlotte 9-20 (Rice 3-6, Curry 2-3, Goldwire 2-3, Johnson 1-2, K.Anderson 1-5, Addison 0-1), New York 7-22 (Starks 4-10, Harper 2-6, Davis 1-2, Ewing 0-2, Ward 0-1, W.Anderson 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Charlotte 38 (Johnson 18), New York 42 (Ewing 15). Assists-Charlotte 18 (K.Anderson 7), New York 31 (Ewing 11). Total fouls-Charlotte 21, New York 26. A-19,763 (19,763).

Trail Blazers 95, Warriors 87

Oakland, Calif.

Golden State’s late drive for a playoff bid ended with a loss to Portland that sent Sacramento to postseason play for the first time in a decade.

Portland (95) - Grant 6-11 0-0 12, C.Robinson 8-18 14-16 32, Sabonis 5-9 0-0 11, McKie 4-8 4-5 12, R.Robinson 2-3 1-2 6, J.Robinson 1-2 0-0 3, Dudley 3-4 1-2 7, Williams 5-8 2-2 12, Trent 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-63 22-27 95.

Golden State (87) - Kersey 3-8 4-7 10, Smith 5-17 6-8 16, Willis 0-6 0-0 0, Armstrong 5-14 2-2 13, Sprewell 10-27 7-8 30, DeClercq 2-4 1-2 5, Coles 5-9 0-2 13, Marshall 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 30-89 20-29 87.

Portland 27 20 23 25 - 95

Golden State 21 28 18 20 - 87

3-Point goals-Portland 5-15 (C.Robinson 2-7, Sabonis 1-1, R.Robinson 1-2, J.Robinson 1-2, Grant 0-1, McKie 0-2), Golden State 7-20 (Coles 3-3, Sprewell 3-9, Armstrong 1-5, Marshall 0-1, Smith 0-2). Fouled out-Kersey. Rebounds- Portland 55 (Dudley 9), Golden State 47 (Smith 11). Assists-Portland 26 (J.Robinson 9), Golden State 18 (Coles 6). Total fouls-Portland 25, Golden State 26. A-15,025 (15,025).

Raptors 107, Bullets 103

Toronto

Doug Christie scored a season-high 30 and Toronto overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Washington.

Juwan Howard scored a career-high 42 for Washington.

Washington (103) - Cheaney 4-10 3-4 12, Howard 19-29 3-8 42, McIlvaine 0-3 0-2 0, B.Price 4-14 3-3 14, Eackles 4-11 2-4 11, McCann 4-6 2-3 10, Butler 3-10 2-2 9, Whitney 1-3 3-4 5, Thornton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-86 18-30 103.

Toronto (107) - Murray 8-16 8-8 27, Miller 4-9 2-2 10, Earl 4-9 6-9 14, Robertson 1-3 0-0 2, Christie 11-16 5-5 30, Lewis 1-4 2-2 4, Whitfield 2-8 1-4 5, King 4-7 3-4 11, Esposito 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 37-75 27-34 107.

Washington 32 27 15 29 - 103

Toronto 21 30 30 26 - 107

3-Point goals-Washington 7-19 (B.Price 3-11, Howard 1-1, Cheaney 1-2, Eackles 1-2, Butler 1-2, Whitney 0-1), Toronto 6-13 (Christie 3-4, Murray 3-5, King 0-1, Esposito 0-1, Lewis 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Washington 53 (McCann 10), Toronto 51 (Miller 13). Assists- Washington 30 (B.Price 11), Toronto 22 (Miller 9). Total fouls-Washington 26, Toronto 26. Technicals-Washington coach Lynam 2, Miller. Ejection-Washington coach Lynam. A-24,454 (22,911).

Suns 123, Mavericks 103

Phoenix

Kevin Johnson led a balanced effort by Phoenix starters, and the Suns locked up the seventh spot in the West. The Suns offset Jason Kidd’s 37 points - one shy of his career high - with 24 points from Wayman Tisdale, 23 from Michael Finley, and 21 each from Wesley Person and Johnson, who also had 19 assists and seven steals.

Dallas (103) - McCloud 3-14 4-4 10, Jones 2-11 4-6 8, L.Williams 1-2 0-2 2, Jackson 8-16 3-4 21, Kidd 14-23 5-6 37, Meyer 3-7 0-0 7, Dumas 0-4 2-2 2, Wood 0-3 0-0 0, Harris 4-11 0-0 10, Parks 2-3 0-0 4, Brooks 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 38-95 18-24 103.

Phoenix (123) - Finley 11-15 1-1 23, Tisdale 12-19 0-0 24, J.Williams 3-7 4-4 10, Person 9-16 0-0 21, Johnson 8-19 4-5 21, Green 2-4 1-4 5, Manning 4-10 4-4 12, Perry 2-2 0-0 4, Carr 1-2 1-2 3, Bennett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 52-94 15-20 123.

Dallas 24 25 31 23 - 103

Phoenix 34 32 25 32 - 123

3-Point goals-Dallas 9-28 (Kidd 4-5, Harris 2-4, Jackson 2-7, Meyer 1-1, Jones 0-1, Dumas 0-1, Wood 0-3, McCloud 0-6), Phoenix 4-9 (Person 3-6, Johnson 1-2, Manning 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Dallas 57 (Jones 11), Phoenix 53 (Finley, J.Williams 10). Assists-Dallas 24 (Kidd 10), Phoenix 40 (Johnson 19). Total fouls-Dallas 19, Phoenix 17. Technicals-L.Williams, Dallas illegal defense 2, Phoenix illegal defense 2. A-19,023 (19,023).

Magic 112, 76ers 92

Philadelphia

Shaquille O’Neal had 23 points and 10 rebounds as Orlando pulled away from Philadelphia in the second half.

Orlando (112) - Scott 2-4 1-1 6, Grant 6-13 2-2 14, O’Neal 10-16 3-5 23, Anderson 4-7 0-0 10, Hardaway 6-7 3-3 15, Koncak 1-2 0-0 2, Shaw 3-6 2-2 9, Royal 3-6 1-2 7, Bonner 4-8 3-5 11, Bowie 2-3 2-2 6, B.Thompson 3-6 0-0 9. Totals 44-78 17-22 112.

Philadelphia (92) - Alston 1-4 0-0 2, Weatherspoon 8-17 2-2 18, L.Thompson 3-6 4-4 10, Maxwell 5-14 2-4 13, Walters 3-7 5-7 13, Sutton 5-11 0-2 15, Massenburg 1-3 4-6 6, Pinckney 0-2 1-2 1, Ruffin 5-15 1-1 14. Totals 31-79 19-28 92.

Orlando 21 28 31 32 - 112

Philadelphia 21 24 21 26 - 92

3-Point goals-Orlando 7-13 (B.Thompson 3-5, Anderson 2-2, Shaw 1-3, Scott 1-3), Philadelphia 11-28 (Sutton 5-9, Ruffin 3-8, Walters 2-5, Maxwell 1-6). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Orlando 48 (Bonner 12), Philadelphia 48 (Weatherspoon 9). Assists-Orlando 35 (Hardaway 9), Philadelphia 21 (Walters 10). Total fouls-Orlando 21, Philadelphia 17. Technicals-Orlando coach Hill, Maxwell. A-18,168 (18,168).

Grizzlies 92, Nuggets 78

Denver

The win against Denver was Vancouver’s fourth in its last 40 games.

Vancouver (92) - King 4-11 3-5 11, B.Edwards 6-10 1-2 13, Avent 4-7 5-6 13, Anthony 3-8 0-1 7, Moten 5-9 0-0 11, Scott 2-8 3-4 8, Murdock 7-12 0-0 14, Wilkins 6-11 0-0 15. Totals 37-76 12-18 92.

Denver (78) - MacLean 6-18 1-2 13, L.Ellis 5-9 4-7 14, McDyess 2-7 0-0 4, Rose 4-7 1-2 9, Stith 4-12 2-4 10, Grant 2-8 0-0 4, D.Ellis 2-9 0-0 5, Hammonds 1-9 2-2 4, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Fish 2-3 2-2 6, Overton 4-8 1-1 9. Totals 32-91 13-20 78.

Vancouver 21 26 18 27 - 92

Denver 17 15 24 22 - 78

3-Point goals-Vancouver 6-19 (Wilkins 3-4, Moten 1-1, Anthony 1-4, Scott 1-4, B.Edwards 0-1, Murdock 0-2, King 0-3), Denver 1-10 (D.Ellis 1-6, Rose 0-1, Williams 0-1, Grant 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Vancouver 41 (B.Edwards 6), Denver 70 (L.Ellis 17). Assists-Vancouver 15 (Anthony 7), Denver 14 (Grant 5). Total fouls-Vancouver 21, Denver 17. A-15,119 (17,171).

Celtics 112, Nets 106

East Rutherford, N.J.

Dana Barros scored a season-high 27 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:29 left in Boston’s win.

Boston (112) - Burrough 5-12 0-0 10, Fox 8-11 0-0 19, Lister 2-5 0-2 4, Minor 3-11 4-5 10, Wesley 7-14 4-6 21, Day 3-11 0-0 7, Barros 10-14 2-2 27, Hamilton 0-1 1-4 1, D.Brown 1-3 9-9 11, Mundt 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 40-83 20-28 112.

New Jersey (106) - P.J.Brown 8-14 2-2 19, Gilliam 11-19 4-7 26, Bradley 7-18 3-4 17, Reeves 1-5 3-4 5, Fleming 3-12 1-2 7, Graham 5-14 0-0 14, Williams 3-8 0-0 6, Mahorn 2-4 0-0 4, Werdann 3-5 2-3 8. Totals 43-99 15-22 106.

Boston 30 27 26 29 - 112

New Jersey 32 26 18 30 - 106

3-Point goals-Boston 12-18 (Barros 5-5, Fox 3-4, Wesley 3-5, Day 1-3, D.Brown 0-1), New Jersey 5-19 (Graham 4-11, P.J.Brown 1-1, Bradley 0-1, Fleming 0-2, Reeves 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Boston 54 (Lister 13), New Jersey 60 (Bradley 13). Assists-Boston 20 (Wesley 14), New Jersey 32 (Fleming 17). Total fouls-Boston 18, New Jersey 21. Technicals-Graham. A-17,776 (20,029).