LOS ANGELES: Steve Blake scored 24 points, Pau Gasol added his seventh career triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers secured the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference with a 99-95 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Dwight Howard had 16 points and 18 rebounds, and the All-Star center blocked James Harden’s shot in the final seconds of overtime for the Lakers, who only clinched a playoff berth about 10 minutes before tipoff in their season finale.
After winning once more without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, Los Angeles will face second-seeded San Antonio in the first round.
Chandler Parsons hit a tying 3-pointer from three steps behind the line at the regulation buzzer for the Rockets, who will face top-seeded Oklahoma City after losing four of six to end the regular season.
Warriors 99, Trail Blazers 88: At Portland, Stephen Curry set a NBA single-season record for 3-pointers with 272 and Golden State defeated Portland in the teams’ season finale.
It was the 13th straight loss for the Blazers, equaling the franchise record set in the 1971-72 season.
Curry surpassed Ray Allen’s single-season 3-point total of 269 set in 2005-06. Needing two for the record, Curry opened the game with two straight misses from beyond the arc, but hit his first midway through the first quarter before making the record-breaker with 6:49 to go in the second.
Grizzlies 86, Jazz 70: At Memphis, Tennessee, Zach Randolph had 25 points and 19 rebounds and Memphis ended Utah’s playoff hopes.
The Grizzlies’ victory meant the Los Angeles Lakers were assured of making the playoffs even before their late game against the Houston Rockets.
Mike Conley finished with 14 points for Memphis, which won its second straight and fifth in the past six. Darrell Arthur finished with 11 points for the Grizzlies, who took the West’s fifth seed and will facec the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
Bulls 95, Wizards 92: At Chicago, Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 15 rebounds to help the Bulls clinch the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Wizards in the regular-season finale.
Kirk Hinrich added 18 points and Nazr Mohammed had a season-high 17 for the Bulls, who will face the Brooklyn Nets in the opening round of the playoffs.
Heat 105, Magic 93: At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and handed out 10 assists, Mike Miller added 21 points and the Miami Heat wrapped up the regular season with a win over the Magic.
The Heat (66-16) became the 14th team in NBA history to finish with a winning percentage over .800, and did so with LeBron James away from the team for the day while tending to a personal matter.
Orlando finished with the NBA’s worst record, 20-62.
Knicks 98, Hawks 92: At New York, Carmelo Anthony won the scoring title without playing, and the Atlanta Hawks lost their chance to move up in the East standings.
Chris Copeland scored 33 points on a night that belonged to the benches, and the Knicks wrapped up their winningest season in 16 years by beating the Hawks.
Nets 103, Pistons 99: At New York, Brook Lopez scored 20 points and reserve Andray Blatche added 15 as the playoff-bound Nets held off the Pistons.
Kris Humphries had 11 points and Joe Johnson added 10 for Brooklyn, winners of two straight. The Nets wrapped up their first regular season after leaving New Jersey and will open their first playoff series in six years at home against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Timberwolves 108, Spurs 95: At San Antonio, Derrick Williams had 21 points to help the Timberwolves beat the Spurs, ending a 16-game losing streak at San Antonio.
Chase Budinger added 15 points and Greg Stiemsma and Ricky Rubio had 12 points apiece for Minnesota, won on the Spurs’ home court for the first time since Jan. 14, 2004.
Bucks 95, Thunder 89: At Oaklahoma City, Rookie John Henson scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, Brandon Jennings had 17 points and the Bucks beat the Thunder in a regular-season finale lacking any postseason implications.
Mavericks 99, Hornets 87: At Dallas, Darren Collison scored 25 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 16 and the Dallas Mavericks finished their worst season in 13 years on a winning note, beating New Orleans in its final game as the Hornets.
The Mavericks (41-41) avoided their first losing record since going 40-42 in 1999-2000 — also the last time they missed the playoffs.
Al-Farouq Amini had 16 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for New Orleans, which will become the Pelicans next season. Eric Gordon also scored 16 for the Hornets.
Nowitzki, who also had a team-high nine rebounds, scored nine points in the third quarter, including a three-point play on a jumper and his one-legged step-back shot at the buzzer for a 75-64 lead.
The Hornets got within six in the fourth quarter, but Collison scored eight straight points to key an 18-4 run that put the Mavs ahead by 20.
BOBCATS 105, CAVALIERS 98: At Charlotte, Kemba Walker had 24 points and seven assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Cavaliers to avoid finishing in the NBA cellar for a second consecutive season.
The Bobcats (21-61) finished one game ahead of the Orlando Magic, who lost their season finale to the Miami Heat.
Josh McRoberts added 20 points and eight rebounds as the Bobcats closed the season with three straight wins, matching a season high.
Gerald Henderson added 15 points.
Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 10 assists for the Cavaliers, who finished with the third-worst record in the league (24-58) after losing 16 of their last 18 games, including their last six.
With the win the Bobcats became the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season.
Charlotte finished last year’s lockout-shortened season 7-59 and its .106 winning percentage was the worst ever.
76ERS 105, PACERS 95: At Indianpolis, Dorell Wright scored 23 points and Evan Turner added 16, leading Philadelphia to a victory over short-handed Indiana in what was likely Doug Collins’ final game as the 76ers coach.
The organization has already scheduled morning news conferences with the managing owner and Collins, who spent almost the entire game glued to his seat and spoke mostly with a hand covering his mouth.
Philadelphia (34-48) finished the season by winning three of its final four games but still out of the playoffs.
The Pacers (49-31) were led by Gerald Green who had a career-high 34 points. Lance Stephenson had 12 points, but the Pacers again failed to win their 50th game and head into the postseason with five losses in their last six games. Indiana rested four starters — Paul George, George Hill, Roy Hibbert and David West.
NUGGETS 118, SUNS 98: At Denver, the Denver Nuggets secured the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs by routing the Suns behind 21 points from Wilson Chandler and 20 from Andre Iguodala.
They will face sixth-seeded Golden State in the first round, opening at home — where they’ve won a franchise-best 23 straight games to finish with the league’s best home mark at 38-3, eclipsing the old record of 36-5 set in 1976-77, their first year in the NBA.
They also won an NBA franchise record 57 games overall, besting the 54-win seasons of 1987-88 and 2008-09.
Luis Scola’s 17 points and 11 rebounds led the Suns, who wrapped up the second-worst season in franchise history with a mark of 25-57, the worst in the West. The only one that was worse for the Suns was their inaugural NBA season in 1968-69, when they went 16-66.
CLIPPERS 112, KINGS 108: At Sacramento, California, Jamal Crawford scored 24 points, including several big shots down the stretch, and the Clippers locked up the No. 4 seed in the West and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Chris Paul had 25 points and 11 assists for the Pacific Division champion Clippers (56-26), who will open against fifth-seeded Memphis (56-26) in Los Angeles. The Clippers won three of four games against the Grizzlies this season.
DeMarcus Cousins had a season-high 36 points and a career-best 22 rebounds, and Marcus Thornton scored 21 to rally Sacramento from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter before the Clippers took control.
