- DALLAS: Kevin Durant scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched a playoff spot with a 121-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Jeff Green added 22 points, and Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison added 17 each to help the Thunder end a nine-game road losing streak against the Mavericks dating to when the team was based in Seattle. The Thunder are the NBA's most improved team this season, more than doubling their 23 victories in 2008-09.
Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, and Jason Kidd added 24 points in the match up of possible playoff opponents.
Brandon Jennings scored 23 points and Milwaukee beat Phoenix to end the Suns' winning streak at 10 games.
Now the Bucks must wait to see if they'll have to face life without Andrew Bogut after the standout center sustained an elbow injury.
Bogut, Milwaukee's leading scorer and rebounder, was taken to the hospital for tests after hurting his right elbow during a dunk in the second quarter. Bogut hung on the rim then crashed to the floor, awkwardly twisting his arm.
Amare Stoudemire had 22 points for the Suns, and Leandro Barbosa added 21.
Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, Al Horford added 20 points and 14 rebounds in Atlanta's 10th straight home victory.
The Hawks also handed Detroit its 11th straight loss, the Pistons' worst run since dropping 13 in a row Dec. 15-Jan. 11.
Josh Smith finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds to help the Hawks improve to 13-6 overall since Feb. 28. Rodney Stuckey had 22 points for the Pistons.
Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Los Angeles.
Nene added 18 points, and Chauncey Billups and Johan Petro had 14 points apiece in helping Denver win its second in a row since a 1-5 stretch. Denver improved to 50-27, the Nuggets' third consecutive 50-win season.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Nuggets pulled into a tie with Utah for first place in the Northwest Division, along with tying the Jazz, Dallas and Phoenix for the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Eric Gordon had 23 points for the Clippers.
Derrick Rose scored 26 points, Kirk Hinrich added 24 and Chicago Bulls beat Charlotte to boost its playoff hopes.
Trailing by six midway through the fourth after building a 13-point lead in the first half, the Bulls went on a 16-3 run and pulled out their sixth win in eight games.
They remained 1 1/2 games behind eighth-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference and pulled within three of Charlotte. Boris Diaw scored 18 points for the Bobcats.
Rookie Terrence Williams had 14 points and a career-high 14 assists to lead New Jersey to its biggest win of the season.
Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points, and Chris Humphries added 10 points and season-high tying 12 rebounds for New Jersey (11-65). The Nets shot a season-high 58.2 percent in sending the Hornets to their third straight loss and 11th in 14 games.
David West had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for New Orleans.
Dwyane Wade scored 39 points, Quentin Richardson added 14 and Miami beat Minnesota for its eighth straight victory.
Wade has scored at least 30 points in four of his last five games. He fueled critical runs at the end of each half to erase any hope Minnesota had of winning consecutive games after snapping a 16-game losing streak.
Al Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each had 12 points for Minnesota.
Chris Bosh led Toronto with 28 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Sonny Weems added 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Andre Iguodala had 33 points and 11 assists, both season highs, and eight rebounds for Philadelphia. Jrue Holiday added a career-high 25 points.
Brandon Roy led Portland with 24 points, Andre Miller added 23, and Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points each.
Portland rebounded from a loss at Denver on Thursday night for its 10th victory in 12 games. Beno Udrih led Sacramento with 22 points. The Kings have lost seven straight games.

