SAN ANTONIO: Danny Green drained seven three-pointers and scored 33 points yesterday as San Antonio assured themselves of the best record in the NBA with a 112-104 win over Phoenix.
Green connected on 12 of 17 shots from the field and seven of 10 from three-point range for the Spurs, who rallied from a 21-point deficit for a win that clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
San Antonio point guard Tony Parker, who sat out Thursday’s victory against the Dallas Mavericks, scored 18 points as the Spurs won their 15th straight home game.
Eric Bledsoe scored 30 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Suns, who had a three-game winning streak end.
Phoenix are now tied with Memphis for the eighth and final play-off spot in the Western Conference.
The Grizzlies, who beat Philadelphia 117-95 yesterday, hold the tiebreaker with the Suns by virtue of winning the head-to-head regular-season series.
Elsewhere, forward LeBron James scored 36 points to lead the Miami Heat to a home win over the Indiana Pacers in a battle between the two teams vying for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Miami used a 16-0 third-quarter run to subdue the Pacers. The Heat led by as many as 23 points in the third and withstood a fourth-quarter run by the Pacers that cut their advantage to as little as nine points.
Forward Paul George led the Pacers with 22 points, and David West added 18 for the reeling Pacers, who lost for the 13th time in their past 21 games.
The Heat (54-25) lead the Pacers (54-26) in the fight for home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Miami will close their regular season with games at Atlanta and Washington and a home contest against Philadelphia.
If the Pacers and Heat finish with identical records, Indiana will get the top seed because they hold the tiebreaker due to a better conference mark.
The Atlanta Hawks moved one step closer to clinching a play-off berth when they beat Brooklyn, ending the Nets’ franchise-best 15-game home winning streak.
Forward Paul Millsap had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks (36-43), whose magic number to clinch the No. 8 seed in the East is down to one with three regular season games left.
Brooklyn forward Paul Pierce had 13 points and became the fourth active player and 18th overall in the NBA to score 25,000 career points. The Nets (43-36) are a virtual lock for the No. 5 playoff seed in the East.
The Chicago Bulls recovered from an 18-point deficit in the second half to win at home over the Detroit Pistons.
Chicago’s seventh straight win vaulted the Bulls ahead of the Toronto Raptors into third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls also clinched home court advantage in the first round of the play-offs on a night when centre Joakim Noah had six points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the eighth center in NBA history to record at least 400 assists in a season.
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and the New York Knicks kept their play-off hopes alive with a road win over the Toronto Raptors.
Forward Amar’e Stoudemire added 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks (34-45) ended a two-game skid.
The Knicks are two games behind Atlanta in the race for the final play-off seed in the East.
Toronto clinched the Atlantic Division despite the loss. The Raptors (46-33) are fourth in the East.
Veteran forward Nene, in his second game back after missing more than a month with a left knee injury, scored 17 points in 20 minutes to lead the Washington Wizards to a road win over the Orlando Magic.
The Wizards (41-38) are one game ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats in the battle for the No. 6 play-off spot in the East.
The Boston Celtics blew a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead but then enjoyed a late 8-0 spurt to end a nine-game losing streak with a home victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats, playing without injured point guard Kemba Walker, out with a groin injury, lost a key game in their battle to finish sixth in the East. Guard Danny Green had a career-high 33 points, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a home win over the Phoenix Suns.
The Spurs were down 21 points early but rallied to clinch the league’s best record and home court advantage throughout the play-offs. AGENCIES
