Bulls cruise past Knicks

NBA roundup….

(The Sports Xchange) – The Chicago Bulls cruised to a 111-80 victory over the New York Knicks, who dropped their seventh game in a row and set a franchise record for losses in a season with 60.

The Bulls (45-29) swept the three-game season series in impressive fashion. Six players scored in double figures, led by rookie Nikola Mirotic’s 24 points.

Pau Gasol finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for his NBA-high 48th double-double as Chicago stayed third in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks (14-60) were led by Andrea Bargnani’s 14 points.

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Warriors 108, Bucks 95

Stephen Curry hit six three-pointers and finished with 25 points as the Golden State Warriors clinched the Western Conference’s top seed with a 108-95 victory over the Bucks.

Klay Thompson scored 17 of his 21 points in the third quarter.

Khris Middleton led Milwaukee (36-37) with 14 points but made just five of 14 shots as the Bucks shot 37.9 percent.

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Jazz 94, Thunder 89

Trey Burke scored 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 17 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 94-89 win over Oklahoma City.

Rudy Gobert chipped in 13 points, 14 rebounds and blocked four shots for the Jazz (32-41), who snapped a four-game losing streak and won after trailing the entire first half.

Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, collected eight rebounds and dished out six assists for the Thunder, while former Utah center Enes Kanter added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Oklahoma City (41-32) committed 23 turnovers and had their lead on the eighth spot in the West trimmed to 2 1/2 games.

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Hornets 115, Hawks 100

Kemba Walker scored 21 points and Gerald Henderson scored 20 as the Charlotte Hornets beat a second-string Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks (55-18), who clinched the Eastern Conference’s top seed with a win over Miami on Friday, rested all five of their usual starters.

The Hornets (31-41) had lost three straight and six of their previous seven. They picked up a half game on No. 8 Boston and are now one game out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 10 games remaining.