CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jalen Duren had 20 points, Duncan Robinson scored 19 and the Detroit Pistons beat Charlotte 118-100 on Friday night, locking the Hornets into the play-in tournament.
Already assured of the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons played their regular starters against the Hornets.
Cade Cunningham scored 14 points, Ronald Holland II had 13 and Ausar Thompson added 12 for Detroit, which is one win shy of its first 60-win season in 20 years with one regular-season game remaining. Duren also had a game-high nine rebounds.
LaMelo Ball had 27 points and eight assists and Brandon Miller had 22 points to lead the Hornets.
Through late in the third quarter, the lead had changed hands 11 times with 13 ties and neither team led by more than eight.
But Charlotte held its last lead at 83-82 with 5:52 left in the third quarter and after the teams were last tied at 87 with 2:46 left in that period, Detroit went on a 24-8 burst for a 111-92 lead with 6:23 to play.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington clinched the worst record in the NBA with a loss to the Miami.
Washington (17-64) has lost nine in a row and 25 of its last 26 to tumble to the bottom of the standings.
The Wizards became the first NBA team to lose 64 games in three consecutive seasons. The Vancouver Grizzlies lost at least 63 games in each of their first three seasons from 1995-96 to 1997-98, while the Process-era Philadelphia 76ers matched that futility from 2013-14 to 2015-16.
Simone Fontecchio and Pelle Larsson both scored 24 points for the Heat (42-39), who had lost 10 of 13. Miami scored an average of 143.5 points while going 4-0 against Washington this season.
The Heat are already assured a fourth consecutive trip to the play-in tournament.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. He scored 83 points, the second-most in NBA history, against Washington on March 10 and averaged 34.8 points against the Wizards this season.
Miami used a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to take the lead for good. The Heat was up 34-23 after a quarter and 72-52 at halftime. Miami shot 63.2% (24 of 38) in the first half.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and New York clinched the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with its 13th consecutive victory over Toronto.
The Knicks improved to 53-28 with the victory in what could be a preview of a first-round playoff series. New York lost its chance to climb to No. 2 when Boston beat the lottery-bound New Orleans Pelicans, while Toronto (45-36) is currently sixth in the East after having its two-game winning streak snapped.
Brunson shot 12 for 18 from the field while Towns was just as effective, shooting 8 for 12 for the Knicks, who extended their winning streak to five games.
New York forward OG Anunoby injured his left ankle midway through the second quarter and did not return to the game.
Brandon Ingram scored 16 points and Ja’Kobe Walter and Scottie Barnes each had 15 for the Raptors, who have not beaten New York since Jan. 22, 2023. The Knicks won all five meetings this season, once in the NBA Cup tournament.
BOSTON (AP) — Sam Hauser had 24 points on eight 3-pointers, and Boston tied the franchise and NBA record with 29 3s on its way to clinching the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 playoff seed with a win over New Orleans.
Jaylen Brown added 23 points in 29 minutes, sitting out the entire fourth quarter. Payton Pritchard finished with 21 points and 10 assists for Boston, which clinched the Atlantic Division.