Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. — Philadelphia secured the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and spoiled the Nets’ final game in New Jersey, 105-87 Monday night.
Thaddeus Young scored all 15 of his points in the second half to help the 76ers make the postseason for the second straight year and eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks from playoff contention.
The win moved Philadelphia (34-30) into a tie with the New York Knicks for the No. 7 seed with two games remaining in the regular season.
Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand added 15 points apiece and Andre Iguodala had 14 points and nine assists for Philadelphia.
MarShon Brooks had 18 points to lead the Nets, who will move into a new arena in Brooklyn next season.
SPURS 124
TRAIL BLAZERS 89
SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan and Danny Green both scored 18 points and San Antonio clinched the top playoff spot in the Western Conference and pushed their winning streak to eight.
Wesley Matthews had 24 points for Portland, which lost its sixth straight and has one game left in a tumultuous season.
Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili didn’t play in the fourth quarter, and chances are the three-time championship trio won’t play in the remaining meaningless games at Phoenix and Golden State.
San Antonio could also know its first-round opponent as early as Tuesday. That’s when Phoenix plays at Utah in a game that could decide the No. 8 seed.
The Spurs secured the top seed with a second-half surge, winning 22 of their last 25 games.
J.J. Hickson had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the injury-depleted Trail Blazers who again only used nine players.
WIZARDS 101, BOBCATS 73
WASHINGTON — John Wall had 16 points and 14 assists, Nene scored 18 points and Jan Vesely had 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting as Washington handed Charlotte its 21st straight loss.
The Wizards have their first four-game winning streak since Dec. 9-13, 2007. The 28-point margin of victory equaled their largest in the season.
The Bobcats were competitive for most of the first quarter until Charlotte’s Tyrus Thomas was ejected with 3.6 seconds left for throwing an elbow at Washington’s James Singleton. He was assessed a flagrant 2 foul. Singleton made two free throws.
It was part of a 16-0 run that gave the Wizards a 37-21 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Gerald Henderson had 19 points for the Bobcats, while D.J. Augustin added 15.
If Charlotte (7-57) loses its final two games, they will finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history. They play at Orlando on Wednesday and at home Thursday night against New York.
PACERS 103, PISTONS 97
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for Indiana.
George made 13 of 15 free throws and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pacers. David West scored 20 points and Leandro Barbosa and Tyler Hansbrough added 13 points each for Indiana.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel rested regular starters Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and George Hill since Indiana is locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Greg Monroe scored 18 points, Brandon Knight had 16 and Tayshaun Prince added 14 for the Pistons.
Detroit held the Pacers to 38 percent shooting, but Indiana forced 18 turnovers and outrebounded the Pistons 56-42. Indiana outscored the Pistons 29-13 from the free-throw line.
GRIZZLIES 109, CAVS 101
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marreese Speights had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Marc Gasol also scored 17 points as Memphis won its fifth straight.
Rudy Gay scored 15 points, O.J. Mayo had 14, Tony Allen added 13 points and a franchise-record eight steals for the Grizzlies, who won their 10th straight at home. Gay and Mayo led a rally that allowed Memphis to finally put the game away in the closing minutes.
The Grizzlies pulled one-half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers hold the tiebreaker between the teams.
Rookie Kyrie Irving had 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting for Cleveland, which lost its fifth in its last six games.
BUCKS 92, RAPTORS 86
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee is out of the NBA playoffs, despite getting 25 points from Brandon Jennings in a victory over Toronto.
Milwaukee’s postseason fate was determined earlier Monday night when Philadelphia beat New Jersey to clinch the eighth playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and eliminate the Bucks.
Ersan Ilyasova added 19 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee.
James Johnson had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost four straight games.
