Chris Paul scored 31 points, including the game-winning shot on a layup with 8.8 seconds left, lifting the Los Angeles Clippers to a 100-98 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night that kept them in position for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Paul got past Thunder defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha and squeezed the ball onto the rim past the league's leading shot blocker, Serge Ibaka, to put L.A. ahead.
"That's the reason he's the best down the stretch. He takes over games," said Clippers forward and Oklahoma City native Blake Griffin, who had 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, including a right-handed slam over Ibaka midway through the third quarter.
Kevin Durant missed a 3-pointer that could have won it, hitting the back rim on a shot over Clippers center DeAndre Jordan from the left wing.
Lakers 98, Spurs 84: Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 30 rebounds, the most in an NBA game this season, and Los Angeles didn't need Kobe Bryant to blow out host San Antonio. The Lakers played their third straight game without the injured Bryant (sore left shin). Bynum surpassed the previous NBA season-high of 25 rebounds, set twice by Orlando's Dwight Howard and Milwaukee's Ersan Ilyasova.
Knicks 111, Bucks 107: J.R. Smith hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 1:04 left, and New York beat host Milwaukee to take a two-game lead on the Bucks for the No. 8 and
final seed in the Eastern Conference. Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, and Monta Ellis had 35 points for the Bucks.Nuggets 113, Timberwolves 107: Ty Lawson scored 24 points, including four free throws in the final 17.6 seconds, to help host Denver beat a Minnesota squad that was missing Kevin Love after he went out with a mild concussion in the first quarter. Love suffered a head injury after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from Nuggets center JaVale McGee when he went up for a shot.
Jazz 103, Rockets 91: Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 29 points and Utah won in Houston to help its fading playoff hopes.
76ers 93, Raptors 75: Thaddeus Young scored 17 points, Nikola Vucevic had 12, and Philadelphia beat host Toronto, an important victory in its chase of a playoff berth. The 76ers avenged a 21-point home loss to Toronto last Wednesday.
Celtics 88, Hawks 86: Paul Pierce overcame a miserable shooting game with a key jumper in overtime, and Rajon Rondo finished with a triple-double with 20 assists, 10 points and 10 rebounds to lift host Boston over Atlanta.
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