JAMES Harden had 12 of his game-high 39 points in overtime Sunday afternoon (Monday in Manila), delivering the Los Angeles Clippers a 124-119 win over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco that sends the Clippers into the playoffs while relegating the Warriors to the play-in bracket.
Kawhi Leonard contributed 33 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals, and Ivica Zubac logged 22 points and 17 rebounds, helping the Clippers secure the fifth seed in the West and an opening-round matchup with the No. 4 Denver Nuggets.
Stephen Curry bombed in 36 points, 21 coming on 3-pointers, for the Warriors, who dropped to seventh in the West and will face the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in game Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila) in San Francisco.
Harden gave the Clippers the lead for good in the five-minute overtime with a 3-pointer 69 seconds into the session. He later added another 3-pointer, two free throws, a floater in the lane and two more clinching foul shots with 3.0 seconds left to secure Los Angeles’ eighth consecutive win.
In other games, it was the Hawks 117, Magic 105; Celtics 93, Hornets 86; Pacers 126, Cavs 118 (2OT); Wizards 119, Heat 118; Bulls 122, Sixers 102; Knicks 113, Nets 105; Nuggets 126, Rockets 111; Grizzlies 132, Mavs 97; Bucks 140, Pistons 133 (OT); Wolves 116, Jazz 105; Thunder 115, Pelicans 100; Blazers 109, Lakers 81; Kings 109, Suns 98; and Spurs 125, Raptors 118.
Hawks 117, Magic 105
Keaton Wallace had a triple-double with 15 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds to lift host Atlanta over Orlando. The teams will meet again Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) in Orlando in the play-in tournament, with the winner claiming the seventh seed and a first-round match-up against Boston.
It was a day for the reserves to log plenty of minutes as both teams rested their primary players. Wallace is in his fourth year as a pro but spent most of that time in the G League before making his NBA debut in October 2024. Terance Mann led the Hawks with 19 points. Jacob Toppin had a career-high 17 points for Atlanta, including five 3-pointers.
Anthony Black led the Magic with 20 points and Jett Howard had 16 off the bench. Orlando finished the regular season 41-41, Atlanta 40-42. The teams split four regular-season meetings.
Celtics 93, Hornets 86
Payton Pritchard tossed in a game-high 34 points to help Boston defeat visiting Charlotte.
As expected, the playoff-bound Celtics rested most of their top players. Boston received 15 points from Sam Hauser and 11 points and eight rebounds from Luke Kornet.
Charlotte, which trailed by 21 early, tied the game 86-86 on a Moussa Diabate layup with 2:13 to play, but Boston regained control by scoring the game’s final seven points. Josh Okogie and JusufNurkic each scored a team-high 14 points for the Hornets.
