Knicks keep heat on Celtics, Raptors level with Hawks
Murray Wenzel |
Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson have powered the New York Knicks to a sixth straight home win and kept the heat on the visiting Boston Celtics entering the final days of the NBA’s regular season.
The Knicks won 112-106 on Thursday night (Friday AEST) behind Hart’s 26 points and Brunson’s 25 points and 10 assists, the Celtics getting within three in the final 35 seconds before Hart’s fifth triple.
With two regular-season games to play, New York (52-28) can still catch Boston (54-26) and finish as high as second in the Eastern Conference standings.
Jayson Tatum, in his first game back at Madison Square Garden since rupturing his achilles tendon there in last season’s playoffs, led Boston with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Boston didn’t have leading scorer Jaylen Brown, who sat out with left achilles tendinitis.
Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored a game-high 29 points and drilled a critical late three-pointer that helped the host Houston Rockets – battling the Lakers for fourth spot in the West – fend off the hard-charging Philadelphia 76ers 113-102.
LeBron James had 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds but didn’t get to compete against rival Stephen Curry as the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 119-103 on Thursday night.
Curry had played the previous two contests in his return from a 27-game absence, spanning two-plus months, because of a right knee injury.
The Warriors, set to finish 10th and enter the play-in tournament, weren’t ready to risk him playing consecutive nights.
And Brandon Ingram scored 23 of his 38 points in the first half as Toronto defeated the visiting Miami Heat 128-114.
The Raptors (45-35) swept the four-game season series with the Heat (41-39) and moved into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Dyson Daniels’ Atlanta Hawks (45-35).
Toronto hold the tiebreaker edge on Atlanta and both teams are one game ahead of the Orlando Magic (44-36) in the battle to make the top six and avoid the play-in tournament.
Atlanta, tied for fifth place, must win one of their final two games to clinch a playoff berth.
They face fourth-placed Cleveland for the second time in three days on Friday (Saturday AEST).
“If we can get in the playoffs, I don’t think we care who we play,” said Atlanta coach Quin Snyder, whose club is 25-10 since late January.
“We just want to get in there, truly. We’ve got a new group since mid-season. Let’s see what we can do.”
The Hawks are likely to be without Australian centre and Boomers star Jock Landale (ankle) until the post-season.
with Reuters
AAP