Around The Nba

Karl Malone became the 10th-leading scorer in NBA history Wednesday, scoring 32 points as the Utah Jazz cruised to a 113-100 win over the Boston Celtics.

Malone had 20 points by halftime and finished with 32 despite not playing in the fourth quarter.

He has 25,200 points, eight more than Jerry West and 413 fewer than Alex English. With 15 regular-season games left, Malone could pass English this season.

At Miami, P.J. Brown had three dunks in overtime and the Miami Heat overcame a 15-point thirdquarter deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 93-91.

The win clinched a playoff spot for Miami, marking the first time the ninth-year franchise has accomplished that goal in two consecutive years.

At Minneapolis, the Timberwolves ran off 20 unanswered points in the second quarter and led by as many as 29 as they sent the Vancouver Grizzlies to their 15th straight loss with a 95-72 victory.

The Grizzlies looked every bit like the team that hasn’t won in more than a month. They shot 26.3 percent (5 of 19) from the field in the second quarter and 30.9 percent for the game.

At Philadelphia, Patrick Ewing had 30 points and 13 rebounds for his 38th double-double this season as New York beat the 76ers 111-100.

At Los Angeles, Malik Sealy scored 16 of his 27 points in the final 7:41 as the Los Angeles Clippers strengthened their hold on a playoff spot with a 108-98 victory that extended the Sacramento Kings’ losing streak to seven games.

The Clippers, clinging to the seventh spot in the Western Conference, hold a two-game lead over Sacramento and a 2-game margin over Phoenix.