Sonics close up with a win
Kevin Durant set career highs with 42 points and 13 rebounds in his first professional double-double, and Jeff Green added 27 points to help the SuperSonics win what could have been their final game as a Seattle team, beating the Golden State Warriors 126-121 on Wednesday night at Oakland, Calif.
A strong season-ending performance by a pair of talented rookies would normally be a bright spot for fans of a lottery-bound team. But with the NBA Board of Governors set to vote this week to approve the Sonics’ move to Oklahoma City, it’s unclear which fans will benefit.
Even by beating Dallas and Golden State in the final two games of the season, the Sonics (20-62) posted the worst record in their history, winning three fewer games than they did in their expansion 1967-68 season.
The Warriors (48-34) head into the off-season with their own uncertainty following the most successful regular season for the franchise since winning 50 games in 1993-94. Normally, a team with 48 wins would be preparing for the playoffs, but the Warriors were the victim of a power-packed Western Conference that had eight teams reach the 50-win mark.
Spurs 109, Jazz 80: At San Antonio, Tony Parker had 24 points and 12 assists and the Spurs beat Utah to wrap up the West’s No. 3 seed.
The Spurs will face the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Jazz will take on the Houston Rockets.
Mavericks 111, Hornets 98: At Dallas, Jason Kidd had the 100th triple-double of his career and sparked a 30-8 stretch that sent the Mavericks past New Orleans, setting up a first-round showdown between these teams.
Rockets 93, Clippers 75: At Houston, Luis Scola had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Rockets locked up the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a victory over Los Angeles.
Nuggets 120, Grizzlies 111: At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first game since getting arrested on a drunken driving charge, and the Nuggets reached 50 wins for the first time in 20 years with a victory over Memphis.
Suns 100, Trail Blazers 91: At Phoenix, little-used Sean Marks had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Suns beat Portland in a game that ended up having no bearing on the Suns’ seeding.
Magic 103, Wizards 83: At Orlando, Fla., J.J. Redick scored a career-high 18 points and Marcin Gortat had a career-high 12 points and 11 rebounds in leading the Magic to victory over Washington in a meaningless game for two playoff-bound teams.
Pistons 84, Cavaliers 74: At Cleveland, rookie Aaron Afflalo scored 15 points and former EWU star Rodney Stuckey 12 for Detroit, which handled the Cavaliers’ team of backups.
“LeBron James ended his season as the NBA’s scoring champion, even though he sat out the season finale to rest before the playoffs. He finished with a 30.0 scoring average and became the first Cavaliers player to lead the league in scoring.
Bobcats 115, 76ers 109: At Charlotte, N.C., Jason Richardson scored 29 points and the Bobcats recovered from blowing a big lead to beat Philadelphia, sending the 76ers to the playoffs on a four-game losing streak.
Pacers 132, Knicks 123: At Indianapolis, Mike Dunleavy tied a career high with 36 points, and Indiana beat New York, sending the Knicks to a franchise record-tying 59th loss.
“Knicks president Donnie Walsh won’t make any decision on coach Isiah Thomas until at least today, saying he wants to sleep on his thoughts before rushing into a decision.
“Pacers co-owner Herb Simon announced that he is moving into day-to-day operations as the Pacers chairman and CEO, taking over for Walsh, who resigned last month to go to New York.
Heat 113, Hawks 99: At Miami, Jason Williams scored 17 points, Mark Blount and Daequan Cook each added 16, and the Heat ended their disappointing season with a victory over Atlanta. Miami finished 15-67, matching the 1988-89 expansion team for the worst record in franchise history.
Celtics 105, Nets 94: At Boston, second-stringer Leon Powe scored a career-high 27 points, adding 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, and the Celtics bench helped beat New Jersey while the starters took it easy in their final playoffs tune-up.
Timberwolves 110, Bucks 101 (OT): At Minneapolis, Randy Foye scored 10 of his career-high 32 points in overtime to help the Timberwolves finish on a winning note in beating Milwaukee.
“Milwaukee’s Royal Ivey was suspended for three games without pay for punching Chicago’s Aaron Gray in the groin during a game Monday night.
Bulls 107, Raptors 97: At Chicago, Tyrus Thomas scored a season-high 26 to lead the Bulls to victory over Toronto, which had already locked up the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Donaghy’s classmate pleads
A former high school classmate of Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to charges he paid the disgraced basketball referee thousands of dollars for inside betting tips on NBA games.
Thomas Martino, 42, told a federal judge in Brooklyn that Donaghy was involved in a scheme to provide “good picks” on the games “for gambling purposes.”
Martino, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the NBA, faces 12 to 18 months in prison when he is sentenced July 11.