Paul George scored 27 points and Kawhi Leonard added 26, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Denver Nuggets 124-111 on Wednesday night near Orlando.
Lou Williams had 23 points and seven assists off the bench for the Clippers, who clinched the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They will meet the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, starting next week.
The Nuggets will be the conference’s No. 3 seed.
Ivica Zubac had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Clippers.
Reserve forward Jerami Grant scored 25 points and pulled down six rebounds for Denver. Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds while Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 11 points. Jamal Murray was held to 10 points, and Torrey Craig also had 10.
Indiana Pacers 108 – Houston Rockets 104
Doug McDermott scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Indiana held off a late rampage by James Harden — and an injury to T.J. Warren — to beat Houston.
By virtue of a win in its second-to-last regular-season game, Indiana clinched at least the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round playoff matchup with the fourth-seeded Miami Heat.
The Pacers rested Warren, whom Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said is dealing with plantar fasciitis. According to reports, the injury isn’t expected to keep Warren from playing in the postseason.
Toronto Raptors 125 – Philadelphia 76ers 121
The 76ers welcomed back Joel Embiid for a first-half cameo, then blew a late seven-point lead and watched as the Raptor’s Stanley Johnson hit a tie-breaking follow shot with 5.9 seconds remaining to clinch a four-point victory.
Embiid, who injured his left ankle Sunday against Portland and sat out Tuesday’s game with Phoenix, played 14 first-half minutes and had five points and nine rebounds. Tobias Harris had a game-high 22 points and Furkan Korkmaz 21 for Philadelphia, which is locked into sixth place in the East and a first-round playoff matchup with Boston.
Chris Boucher and Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 19 apiece. Norman Powell added 17 points and Pascal Siakam had 15 for Toronto, which has clinched second place in the East.
Miami Heat 116 – Oklahoma City Thunder 115
Darius Bazley scored 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Mike Muscala hit two 3-pointers in the final minute to lift Oklahoma City to a come-from-behind win over Miami that featured reserve players in the second half.
The Thunder trailed by as many as 22 points in the fourth period but outscored the Heat 34-15 in the quarter. The first tied it with 34.8 seconds to play. After Miami regained the lead on a Solomon Hill layup, Muscala hit another 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining.
An attempted 3-pointer by Tyler Herro (career-high 30 points) hit off the front of the rim at the buzzer to seal Oklahoma City’s win.
–Field Level Media
