Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Detroit Pistons beat the Golden State Warriors 115-101 on Friday to become the first Eastern Conference team to clinch an NBA playoff berth. Jalen Duren scored 23 points and Daniss Jenkins added 22 for the Pistons, who grabbed their 51st victory of the season despite the absence of star guard Cade Cunningham, who is out for at least two weeks with a collapsed lung. Ausar Thompson came up with seven of the Pistons’ 16 steals. In all, the Warriors had 26 turnovers, leading to 32 Detroit points. “That was a point of emphasis for us going into the game, trying to figure out how our defense can create that chaos that we’re looking for,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
The Boston Celtics maintained their hold on second place in the East with a 117-112 come-from-behind victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, and reserve Luka Garza scored 11 of his 22 in the fourth quarter as the Celtics held off the injury-depleted Grizzlies. Memphis took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter and were up 103-102 with 5:33 remaining. But Boston unleashed a 10-0 scoring run to snatch the victory and stay ahead of the third-placed New York Knicks, who edged the Brooklyn Nets 93-92. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 17 rebounds and eight assists for the Knicks, who erased an early 13-point deficit then squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before emerging with the win.
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In Houston, the Rockets brought the Atlanta Hawks down to earth with a thud, ending the Hawks’ 11-game winning streak with a 117-95 blowout victory. Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets. Alperen Sengun added 15 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists as Houston bolstered their playoff bid after back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Lakers. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 21 points to lead the Hawks, who slipped to seventh place in the East.
Portland’s Jerami Grant scored the go-ahead three-pointer with 21.3 seconds as the Trail Blazers edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-104. Julius Randle’s basket had put the Timberwolves up 104-103 when Grant got the ball on an inbounds pass and drained a trey to make it 106-104. Grant came up with a rebound on the other end and drilled a pair of free throws to seal the win. Grant finished with 26 points, Deni Avdija had 25, and Donovan Clingan had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers. Randle scored 19 points to lead the Timberwolves, who were again without injured All-Star Anthony Edwards.
In Denver, Jamal Murray scored 31 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 off the bench, and Nikola Jokic scored 22 points with eight rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets in a 121-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Jakob Poeltl’s 23 points led the Raptors, who led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter. Murray scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, and Hardaway added nine to fuel Denver’s comeback. The score was knotted at 115-115 when Jokic’s fadeaway basket gave the Nuggets the lead for good with 44.9 seconds remaining.
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