HEAT 130, CELTICS 124
BOSTON – Jimmy Butler registered 26 points with 11 assists to help the Miami Heat to contain 130-124 to Boston Celtics dueling teams in the fight to maintain their position in the tough fight for the Postseason in the Eastern Conference.
Duncan Robinson added 22 units and Bam adebayo finished with 20 for Miami, which increased its lead over Boston to two games in sixth place in the East. The Heat (37-31) have the same record as Atlanta, which is fifth and has a tiebreaker advantage.
This is the first of two straight games between Miami and Boston, which will meet on Tuesday for the last time in the regular season.
Evan Fournier He scored 30 points to lead the Celtics (35-33), who have lost three of four games when trying to avoid having to play the mini-tournament. Jayson Tatum had 29 points and Kemba Walker ended up with 18.
Boston had offensive problems without its star Jaylen Brown, who missed his third game in a row with a sprained right ankle.
KNICKS 106, CLIPPERS 100
LOS ANGELES – Derrick Rose scored 25 points as a substitute and Reggie Bullock added 24 to help New York Knicks to exceed 106-100 at LA Clippers and thus ending an eight-game losing streak at Staples Center.
Bullock hit five 3-pointers against his former team and RJ Barrett he hit four long-range shots to finish with 18 points. The Clippers are the best team in the league on triples, but they were only 12 of 35 against the Knicks.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 29 points, Paul George added 18 and Nicolas batum He had 13 for the Los Angeles team, who have already secured their postseason ticket, but saw their two-win streak ended in the last home game of the regular season.
The Knicks had a 10-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter after hitting three triples and with the Clippers getting rid of errors and missed shots.
Leonard returned to the floor with 5:30 left, scored five straight points and brought the Clippers 96-90 on the scoreboard. The forward and George combined to score the Clippers’ last 15 points. With a triple by Leonard, Los Angeles reduced the Knicks’ lead to 104-100, but Taj Gibson he made a pair of free throws to seal the New York triumph.
Julius Randle he finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who received the cheers of the public despite the fact that admission was limited to the Staples Center.
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