UNDATED (AP) — The Boston Celtics have passed the Milwaukee Bucks for the second seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, while the Dallas Mavericks strengthened its bid for homecourt advantage in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
The Celtics won for the 13th time in 16 games by crushing the Wizards, 144-102. Jaylen Brown provided 32 points and Jayson Tatum had 22 for the Celts, who had three other players with at least 14. Tatum also had seven assists and six rebounds, while Brown added seven boards with five assists.
The win puts Boston a half-game ahead of the Bucks with three games remaining. Milwaukee has a game in hand.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks were 118-112 winners over the Bucks. Doncic scored 32 points, matched a season high with 15 assists and had eight rebounds.
Dwight Powell had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, which is two games ahead of Denver for fourth in the West.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points and 10 assists.
In other NBA action:
— Kyle Lowry had 16 points and 10 assists against his former team as the Heat topped the Raptors, 114-109. Max Strus scored all of his 23 points in the second half to help Miami end Toronto’s five-game winning streak. Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Tyler Herro had 18 and Bam Adebayo 16 as the East-leading Heat won their fourth straight to remain two games ahead of Boston.
— The 76ers locked up a playoff spot with a 112-108 win over the Cavaliers. Joel Embiid had 44 points with 17 rebounds despite being questionable heading into the game with a sore ankle. James Harden chipped in 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double since joining the Sixers.
— The Nuggets moved into fifth in the West as Nikola Jokic delivered 38 points and 18 rebounds in a 129-118 victory over the Lakers. Aaron Gordon scored 24 points and Will Barton had 25 as the Nuggets capitalized on LeBron James’ absence with a fourth-quarter surge to grab their fourth win in five games. Anthony Davis had 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the 11th-place Lakers, who dropped their sixth in a row.
— The Timberwolves cruised to a 139-132 win over the Rockets as Anthony Edwards scored 33 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 28. The Timberwolves led by as many as 25 in the fourth and were up by 16 with about five minutes to go before Houston scored the next eight points. It’s the second straight victory for Minnesota, which is in seventh place in the West with three games remaining.
— Olivier Sarr scored a career-high 24 points and Aleksej Pokuveski recorded his first career triple-double to lead the Thunder to a 117-96 victory over the NBA-leading Suns. Pokuveski had 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds while playing point guard for the bulk of the game. Phoenix shot just 18% from 3-point range while Devin Booker was given the night off.
— Keldon Johnson had 28 points and the Spurs defeated the short-handed Trail Blazers, 113-92 to strengthen their bid for a play-in berth. Spurs center Zach Collins had 18 points and 13 rebounds for his first career double-double. Coupled with the Lakers’ loss to Denver, San Antonio’s magic number for clinching 10th in the Western Conference is two games.
— Andrew Wiggins provided 25 points and Jordan Poole added 22 in the Warriors’ 109-90 verdict over the Kings. Nemanja Bjelica had season highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds to go with his six assists to help Golden State pick up a second straight win for the first time since early March. Harrison Barnes had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
— The Clippers prevented the Pelicans from clinching a spot in the play-in tournament with a 119-100 victory against New Orleans. Marcus Morris Sr. made four 3-pointers for the Clippers, who were 21 of 44 from beyond the arc. Morris scored 22 points and Ivica Zubac got his 22nd double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
— RJ Barrett scored 27 points and Obi Toppin matched his career high with 20 in the Knicks’ 118-88 pummeling of the Magic. Toppin and Alec Burks scored 12 each in a 37-point third quarter for New York, which made 12 of its first 13 shots in the period. Burks finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley had his first triple double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 34 minutes off the bench.
— Saddiq Bey dropped in 31 points and Fred Jackson had 19 to lead the Pistons to their third consecutive win, 121-117 versus the Pacers. Bey hit 11 of 18 shots, including shooting 7 of 9 on 3-pointers, in 23 minutes. The Pistons sank 21 of 41 3-pointers and won despite being outrebounded, 58-38.
