Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware had double-doubles, eight of their Miami teammates scored in double figures and the visiting Heat made history in a 153-104 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
The Heat posted the highest-scoring game in franchise history, topping a 149-141 double-overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on March 19, 2018. Miami also wound up with its second-biggest margin of victory, trailing just a 60-point win over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 29, 2024.
The Pelicans took the biggest regular-season loss in franchise history and set a team mark for most points allowed.
Adebayo finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Ware had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which is assured of finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference and a Wednesday play-in game on the road against the ninth-place Chicago Bulls.
Timberwolves 117, Nets 71
Rudy Gobert matched his career-high with 35 points as Minnesota defeated Brooklyn in Minneapolis.
Gobert also had 11 rebounds while fellow frontcourt veteran Julius Randle added 21 points — including 5 of 6 on 3-point attempts — as Minnesota moved into seventh-place in the Western Conference, in a cluster of four teams who could all end up with the same record after Sunday’s regular-season finale.
The only concern for the Timberwolves was a technical foul called against superstar guard Anthony Edwards — his 18th of the season — with 6:29 remaining in the first half. That leaves Edwards, who was held to nine points, poised to be suspended for Minnesota’s regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
Clippers 101, Kings 100
Behind James Harden’s triple-double and Kawhi Leonard’s 20-point first half, Los Angeles extended its season-best winning streak to seven games by topping host Sacramento.
Harden finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Clippers, who are tied with the Denver Nuggets for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
Down by nine late in the fourth quarter, the Kings rallied as Zach LaVine scored 10 of his team-high 26 points in the final 3:39. However, DeMar DeRozan’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was no good.
Cavaliers 108, Knicks 102
Darius Garland scored 13 fourth-quarter points for Cleveland, which overcame a 23-point first-half deficit to beat host New York.
Despite the loss, the Knicks clinched the third seed in the Eastern Conference by virtue of the Indiana Pacers’ loss to the Orlando Magic earlier Friday. New York is one game ahead of the Pacers and owns the tiebreaker after winning their season series 2-1.
The Knicks will face the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, which begin next week while the top-seeded Cavaliers will await the results of the play-in tournament.
Warriors 103, Trail Blazers 86
Jimmy Butler III had 24 points and seven assists and visiting Golden State got a win it needed, beating Portland.
The Warriors sit a game behind the Los Angeles Clippers as four teams sit within a game of each other in the Western Conference with one game to play. Golden State will host the Clippers on Sunday.
Buddy Hield finished with 16 points off the bench for the Warriors. Jabari Walker led the Blazers with 19 off the bench. The 86 points were a season low for Portland, who fell to the Warriors for the ninth straight meeting.
Bucks 125, Pistons 119
Giannis Antetokounmpo notched a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds and Milwaukee clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed in the playoffs with a win over host Detroit.
Bobby Portis had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Kevin Porter Jr. contributed 16 points and seven assists. Brook Lopez tossed in 15 points while Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma added 10 apiece for the Bucks, who will face the Pacers in the playoffs’ first round. The Bucks pushed their winning streak over the Pistons to 12 games.
Cade Cunningham carried the Pistons (44-37) with 36 points and 12 assists. Malik Beasley had 21 points, Tobias Harris supplied 17 and Dennis Schroder added 12 with eight assists. Detroit will be the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will take on the Knicks in the first round.
Bulls 119, Wizards 89
Julian Phillips posted career highs with 23 points and nine rebounds as Chicago cruised past visiting Washington.
Nikola Vucevic added 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Bulls, who clinched the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference with the win, meaning they will host No. 10 Miami in a play-in game. Chicago won its fifth in the past six games.
Justin Champagnie finished with 22 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the Wizards, who have lost five in a row.
Lakers 140, Rockets 109
Luka Doncic recorded 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Los Angeles clinched the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed with a solid victory over visiting Houston.
LeBron James had 14 points and eight assists in 22 minutes before sitting out the final 19:27 with an apparent injury. James, who has been bothered by a left groin injury, grimaced just before being pulled in the third quarter and had his left leg/hip area taped but the team didn’t immediately announce an ailment. Austin Reaves contributed 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Cam Whitmore established career highs of 34 points and seven 3-pointers for the Rockets (52-29), who held out several players for the second straight game. Reed Sheppard scored 14 points, Nate Williams added 12 and Aaron Holiday tallied 11.
Celtics 130, Hornets 94
Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points and Derrick White added 19 points, seven assists and four blocked shots as Boston crushed visiting Charlotte.
Jayson Tatum had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 2 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs. Charlotte was eliminated from playoff contention last month.
The Celtics led by one point at halftime but outscored the Hornets 76-41 over the final 24 minutes despite not playing their starters in the fourth quarter.
Mavericks 124, Raptors 102
Anthony Davis notched his fourth career triple-double, tallying 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Dallas to a blowout of visiting Toronto.
Max Christie and Brandon Williams each scored 17 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who will face a play-in game against the Sacramento Kings next week. Dallas snapped a three-game losing streak.
Scottie Barnes finished with 26 points and nine rebounds and Ochai Agbaji added 24 points for the Raptors, who used only seven players.
Nuggets 117, Grizzlies 109
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists for Denver, which outscored Memphis 14-1 in the final six minutes to beat the visiting Grizzlies.
Jokic guaranteed he will be the third player to average triple-double for a season, and the first center. He has 34 triple-doubles this season and 164 in his career. Denver rallied from down 15 to stay in the top six in the Western Conference. Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman has won his first two games since taking over for the fired Michael Malone. Aaron Gordon had 33 points and Jamal Murray scored 15 in his return after missing six games with a hamstring injury. Russell Westbrook recorded 14 points, Christian Braun contributed 12 and Michael Porter Jr. finished with 12 rebounds.
Desmond Bane had 24 points for the Grizzlies (47-34), who lost for the second straight night and dropped to the No. 8 spot with a game remaining Sunday against the visiting Dallas Mavericks. Memphis is assured of a play-in berth. Ja Morant scored 21 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 18 points and Luke Kennard had 12 points.
Thunder 145, Jazz 111
Aaron Wiggins scored 35 points and Isaiah Joe drained 10 3-pointers en route to 32 points as Oklahoma City defeated Utah in Salt Lake City.
With both teams relying on reserves, the Thunder hit 56 percent from the field and made 24 of 53 3-point attempts (45.3 percent). Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams tallied 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Svi Mykhailiuk registered a career-high 27 points and hit five 3-pointers off the bench for the Jazz, who were coming off a rare win. Utah, which went 17-for-63 (27 percent) from 3-point territory, lost for the 20th time in 22 games.
Suns 117, Spurs 98
Ryan Dunn scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to help host Phoenix earn a win over San Antonio, ending an eight-game losing streak.
Bradley Beal added 21 points for the Suns, with Devin Booker scoring 18. Phoenix hadn’t won since downing the Milwaukee Bucks on March 24 for its fourth victory in a row.
Julian Champagnie put up 23 points for the Spurs, who took their fourth loss in five games.
Magic 129, Pacers 115
Trevelin Queen scored a career-high 25 points and Anthony Black had 21 as Orlando beat Indiana in Indianapolis for its fifth straight win. Both teams opted to sit all their starters, and the Magic led by as many as 35 points.
Jett Howard finished with 17 points for seventh-place Orlando, which will host eighth-place Atlanta on Tuesday in an Eastern Conference play-in game.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 20 points. No. 4 seed Indiana will have home-court advantage against No. 5 Milwaukee in the first round of the playoffs.
Hawks 124, 76ers 110
Trae Young recorded 36 points and 11 assists, and Caris LeVert added 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting as Atlanta clinched the No. 8 seed in the Easter Conference playoffs with a win at Philadelphia.
Georges Niang chipped in 16 points and Mouhamed Gueye notched 10 points and 18 boards for Atlanta, which will visit the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic as part of the play-in tournament next week.
Jared Butler scored 25 points and Marcus Bagley produced career-bests of 20 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which only had eight players available and is now guaranteed to finish with one of the five worst records in the NBA. The Thunder have the 76ers’ pick in the draft but it is top-six protected.
