The San Antonio Spurs do what they always do: Clinch a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a frustrating loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Charlotte Hornets beat up on another weakling for a second straight night while the Chicago Bulls crumble away out of the playoff picture.
Chicago Bulls 89 Orlando Magic 102: The Bulls continue to fall, now at .500, with an offense that seem burnt out and a defense that doesn’t care. The Magic got 24 points from Nikola Vucevic while Mario Hezonja had one of his better games this season, finishing with 21 points.
Charlotte Hornets 119 Philadelphia 76ers 99: The Hornets win again vs one of the worst teams in the NBA, pouring down the points. Kemba Walker led the Hornets again with 30 points while four more players finished in double figures. Three different players scored 17 points from the 76ers, who are still without Jahlil Okafor, and have lost 10 games in a row.
Portland Trail Blazers 93 Boston Celtics 116: A very impressive win for the Celtics that stops the Blazers hype train with excellent backcourt defense, which is the key to stopping Portland. Isaiah Thomas scored 30 points while Avery Bradley had another fantastic game on both ends with 17 points.
Utah Jazz 94 Toronto Raptors 104: The Jazz keep letting the 8th place in the West slip away from them, while the Raptors keep the pressure on the Cavaliers. This was another DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry show, as the two combined to score 63 points.
New Orleans Pelicans 95 Houston Rockets 100: The Rockets shot an astounding 3-for-34 (8.8%) from beyond the arc. And yet in this weird season for them, they still won. Dwight Howard played some big defense, adding 3 blocks. James Harden scored 39 points, with 16 coming from the line, going 1-of-8 from beyond the arc and turning the ball over 8 times.
Sacramento Kings 98 Memphis Grizzlies 104: The Kings turned the ball over 24 times, while Memphis keep playing solid, patient and smart basketball to avoid falling apart since Marc Gasol finished the season. Mike Conley led them with 24 points while Zach Randolph added 19.
Indiana Pacers 104 Milwaukee Bucks 99: The Pacers stop a three game losing streak as seven different players scored in double figures. For once, another bad shooting night from Paul George (5-of-15 from the field) didn’t cost them the game, as Jordan Hill led them with 19 points off the bench.
Washington Wizards 104 Minnesota Timberwolves 98: The Wizards put themselves 0.5 games behind 8th in the East following the win, achieved despite John Wall shooting just 6-of-18 from the field. Bradley Beal scored 26 points and Alan Anderson finished with 18, both coming off the bench. Ricky Rubio led the Timberwolves with 22 points.
Detroit Pistons 81 San Antonio Spurs 97: The Spurs improved to 29-0 at home, clinching their 19th consecutive playoff spot. Kawhi Leonard led them with 27 points and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22. The Spurs shot just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc, but their defense held the Pistons to just 39.7% from the field and Andre Drummond to 9 points.
Los Angeles Lakers 107 Denver Nuggets 117: The Lakers won a game and go right back to their losing ways. D’Angelo Russell scored 22 to lead them while Kobe Bryant played just one half before his shoulder bothered him again. D.J. Augustin with 26 points off the bench and Emmanuel Mudiay scoring 22 led the Nuggets.
Oklahoma City Thunder 98 Los Angeles Clippers 103: Russell Westbrook showed once again why it’s wrong to trust him in the clutch, as these two rivals that really hate each other. Chris Paul scored 21 points with 13 assists, while DeAndre Jordan didn’t mess up from the line (mostly), finishing with 20 points and 18 rebounds. The Thunder held a 22-point lead and dropped it, as they head towards another meeting with the Golden State Warriors.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 17 | .712 | – | 59 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 40 | 19 | .678 | 2.0 | 59 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 37 | 25 | .597 | 6.5 | 62 |
| 4 | Miami Heat | 34 | 26 | .567 | 8.5 | 60 |
| 5 | Atlanta Hawks | 33 | 28 | .541 | 10.0 | 61 |
| 6 | Charlotte Hornets | 32 | 28 | .533 | 10.5 | 60 |
| 7 | Indiana Pacers | 32 | 29 | .525 | 11.0 | 61 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 31 | 30 | .508 | 12.0 | 61 |
| 9 | Washington Wizards | 30 | 30 | .500 | 12.5 | 60 |
| 10 | Chicago Bulls | 30 | 30 | .500 | 12.5 | 60 |
| 11 | Orlando Magic | 27 | 33 | .450 | 15.5 | 60 |
| 12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 25 | 36 | .410 | 18.0 | 61 |
| 13 | New York Knicks | 25 | 37 | .403 | 18.5 | 62 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 17 | 44 | .279 | 26.0 | 61 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 8 | 53 | .131 | 35.0 | 61 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 54 | 5 | .915 | – | 59 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 51 | 9 | .850 | 3.5 | 60 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 42 | 19 | .689 | 13.0 | 61 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 40 | 20 | .667 | 14.5 | 60 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 36 | 24 | .600 | 18.5 | 60 |
| 6 | Dallas Mavericks | 33 | 28 | .541 | 22.0 | 61 |
| 7 | Portland Trail Blazers | 33 | 29 | .532 | 22.5 | 62 |
| 8 | Houston Rockets | 30 | 31 | .492 | 25.0 | 61 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 28 | 32 | .467 | 26.5 | 60 |
| 10 | Sacramento Kings | 24 | 35 | .407 | 30.0 | 59 |
| 11 | Denver Nuggets | 24 | 37 | .393 | 31.0 | 61 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 23 | 36 | .390 | 31.0 | 59 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 19 | 42 | .311 | 36.0 | 61 |
| 14 | Phoenix Suns | 15 | 45 | .250 | 39.5 | 60 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 12 | 50 | .194 | 43.5 | 62 |