NBA: Miami Heat clinch playoffs with win over Celtics

 

The Miami Heat clinched a spot in the playoffs for the fourth time in the past six seasons by beating the host Boston Celtics 129-121 on Tuesday night.

Miami won in Boston for the second consecutive game, all but relegating the Celtics to the NBA’s play-in tournament. Miami has a three-game lead and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Celtics with each team having three regular-season contests to play.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo scored 22 apiece.

Kemba Walker had a season-high 36 points to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum amassed 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Pacers 103, 76ers 94

Caris LeVert scored 24 points and Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double with 16 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds to lead host Indiana to a comeback win over Philadelphia.

The Pacers clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with their second consecutive victory coupled with the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Tobias Harris scored a game-high 27 points for the Sixers, who were without star center Joel Embiid due to an illness not related to COVID-19 and had their season-long eight-game winning streak snapped.

Lakers 101, Knicks 99

Talen Horton-Tucker hit the decisive 3-pointer with 20.3 seconds left in overtime, lifting Los Angeles over visiting New York.

The 20-year-old guard scored eight of his 13 points in extra time. Kyle Kuzma paced the Lakers with 23 points. Anthony Davis added 20 points, and Andre Drummond chipped in with 16 points and 18 rebounds.

Facing his former team, Julius Randle totaled a game-high 31 points for New York. Derrick Rose contributed 27 points, six rebounds and six assists off the bench.

Kings 122, Thunder 106

Terence Davis came off the bench to score 27 points, leading Sacramento to a home win over Oklahoma City.

With their sixth victory in seven games, the Kings kept their faint playoff hopes alive for at least another day. With three games remaining, Sacramento needs to win out and have the San Antonio Spurs lose the rest of their games to have a chance at making the Western Conference play-in tournament.

Kenrich Williams led Oklahoma City with 20 points. Darius Bazley had 18 points, and Moses Brown finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Warriors 122, Suns 116

Andrew Wiggins, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jordan Poole buried consecutive 3-pointers in the final 2:58, capping a Golden State comeback that resulted in a victory over visiting Phoenix.

Wiggins exploded for a game-high 38 points as the Warriors completed a two-night sweep of the top two teams in the Western Conference to remain a half-game ahead of Memphis in their duel for the eighth position in the West’s play-in tournament.

Devin Booker went for a team-high 34 points for the Suns, who fell two games behind idle Utah atop the West with just three to play.

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