It was another night of thrills in the NBA as the LA Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards emerged victorious in their matchups and became the next teams to secure postseason appearances.
Wizards down Cavs in Cleveland
The Washington Wizards pulled off a crucial 127-115 away win against the Cleveland Cavaliers and clinched a playoffs spot. John Wall led the team with a 37-point, 11-assist double-double, Bradley Beal had 27 points, four rebounds and six assists, while Kelly Oubre Jr finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
LeBron James had a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving had 23 points and four assists, and Kevin Love ended the game with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Clippers clinch spot with win over Jazz
The LA Clippers became the fourth team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoffs spot after defeating the Utah Jazz 108-95 on Jamal Crawford’s 28 points. Blake Griffin had 15 points and six rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan had 15 rebounds and seven points. Cameroonian forward Luc Mbah a Moute ended with four points, three rebounds and two steals.
The Jazz were led by Rudy Gobert with a 26-point, 14-rebound double-double, Joe Johnson had 17 points, and Gordon Hayward had 13 points and five rebounds.
Raptors beat Mavs, head for playoffs
The Toronto Raptors have also secured a playoffs berth after beating the Dallas Mavericks 94-86. Congolese forward Serge Ibaka had 18 points and eight rebounds, DeMar DeRozan had 18 points and six assists, while Patrick Patterson ended the night with 14 points and five rebounds.
Harrison Barnes led Dallas with 23 points and seven rebounds, Seth Curry had 11 points and Yogi Farrell 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Spurs stop Knicks in San Antonio
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks 106-98. Kawhi Leonard had 29 points, five rebounds and five assists, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol both had 19-point, 10-rebound double-doubles, and Patty Mills 10 points and seven assists.
The Knicks were led by Willy Hernangomez with a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double, Derrick Rose had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Mindaugas Kuzminaskas finished with 19 points.
Portland blaze Minnesota
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100 on the back of CJ McCollum’s 32 points, four rebounds and four assists, Damian Lillard had 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 20 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and five rebounds, and Ricky Rubio 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.
By Kaunda Chama
