(The Sports Xchange) – Guard Marcus Smart scored 19 points, forward Evan Turner passed for a career-high 13 assists and Boston remained seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 99-90 victory over short-handed Cleveland.
The Cavaliers played without guards Kyrie Irving (hip) and Iman Shumpert (thigh), who were resting non-serious injuries. The Cavs have already won the Central Division and clinched the second seed in the East.
Coach David Blatt rested his starters in the fourth quarter, allowing the Celtics to escape after they blew a 16-point lead in the third quarter.
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Nets 117, Wizards 80
Center Brook Lopez continued his brilliant late-season play with 26 points and nine rebounds and reserve guard Bojan Bogdanovic added a career-high 22 points, including six-of-six from three-point range, leading the Nets to a critical victory.
Brooklyn, who won for the 10th time in their last 13 games and have the same 37-42 record as seventh-seeded Boston, need to win one of their final three games to clinch a playoff berth.
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Pacers 107, Pistons 103
C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey scored 24 points apiece as the Pacers extended their winning streak to four games.
The Pacers (36-43) remained one game behind Boston and Brooklyn for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
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Hawks 104, Hornets 80
The Hornets were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss to the Hawks, who have won four in a row.
Guard Kyle Korver finished with 16 points and forward Al Horford added 15 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta, who unveiled their Southeast Division championship banner before the game.
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Raptors 101, Magic 99
Reserve guard Lou Williams hit a game-winning three-point basket with 9.2 seconds remaining to give the Raptors the victory.
Guard DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 29 points for the Raptors (47-32), who are trying to assure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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Mavericks 144, Nuggets 143 (2OT)
Raymond Felton’s driving layup with 1.5 seconds left gave Dallas a double-overtime victory over Denver.
Denver’s Kenneth Faried missed a hook shot in the lane over Felton as time expired.
Dallas, who are locked into the seventh seed in the Western Conference, rested their starters at the start of the second overtime, while guard Rajon Rondo missed the whole game.
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Spurs 104, Rockets 103
Tim Duncan blocked a driving layup attempt by James Harden at the rim in the final seconds, enabling San Antonio to hang on for a victory over Houston.
Harden, who missed 14 of 19 shots from the field, nailed a three-pointer with 28.4 seconds left to cut the Houston deficit to one point and then harassed Spurs guard Manu Ginobili into a turnover, giving the Rockets possession with 6.1 seconds left.
