TALEN Horton-Tucker hit the decisive 3-pointer with 20.3 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-99 victory over the visiting New York Knicks on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
The 20-year-old guard scored eight of his 13 points in extra time.
The seventh-place Lakers (39-30) pulled within one game of the Mavericks (40-29) in the chase for sixth place in the Western Conference after Dallas lost at Memphis. The top six teams clinch berths in the main draw of the playoffs while the seventh- through 10th-place teams head to a play-in tournament.
Kyle Kuzma paced the Lakers with 23 points. Anthony Davis added 20 points, and Andre Drummond chipped in with 16 points and 18 rebounds.
In other games, it was the Heat 129, Celtics 121; Pacers 103, Sixers 95; Kings 122, Thunder 106; Warriors 122, Suns 116; Bucks 114, Magic 102; Clippers 115, Raptors 96; Nuggets 117, Hornets 112; Wolves 119, Pistons 100; Nets 115, Bulls 107; and Grizzlies 133, Mavs 104.
Heat 129, Celtics 121
The Miami Heat clinched a spot in the playoffs for the fourth time in the past six seasons by beating the host Boston Celtics.
Miami won in Boston for the second consecutive game, all but relegating the Celtics to the NBA’s play-in tournament. Miami has a three-game lead and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Celtics with each team having three regular-season contests to play.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo scored 22 apiece.
Kemba Walker had a season-high 36 points to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum amassed 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Pacers 103, 76ers 94
Caris LeVert scored 24 points and Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double with 16 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds to lead host Indiana to a comeback win over Philadelphia.
The Pacers clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with their second consecutive victory coupled with the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Tobias Harris scored a game-high 27 points for the Sixers, who were without star center Joel Embiid due to an illness not related to COVID-19 and had their season-long eight-game winning streak snapped. — Field Level Media
