Mavericks 102, Pistons 99
O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and the visiting Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Detroit Pistons on Friday night when Charlie Villanueva missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Dallas began the night 4½ games behind eighth-place Utah in the race for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Mavericks blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, allowing Detroit to go ahead 97-96 on a 3-pointer by Khris Middleton.
Dirk Nowitzki made two straight shots to put Dallas ahead by three. It was 100-99 after Villanueva caught Jose Calderon’s airball and made a layup with 6 seconds left.
Nets 95, Wizards 78
Deron Williams made an NBA-record nine 3-pointers in the first half, finished with 11 and scored a season-high 42 points to lead the host Brooklyn Nets to a victory over the Washington Wizards.
Williams made his first eight shots behind the arc, became the first player in a decade to match the opposing team’s score in the first half, and was one shy of the NBA record of 12 3-pointers as the Nets opened a huge early lead and coasted.
He missed from straightaway with 1:08 left in the game, leaving him one shy of the record shared by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.
John Wall had 16 points for the Wizards, who played without rookie guard Bradley Beal, their leading scorer, because of a sprained left ankle and lost for the fourth time in five games.
Pacers 115, Magic 86
Paul George had 25 points and Tyler Hansbrough added 18 and the visiting Indiana Pacers used a big first half to roll past the Orlando Magic.
Indiana scored 30 points off 21 Orlando turnovers and also connected on 11 3-pointers in the victory.
The offensive eruption came after a late-game offensive meltdown against Boston on Wednesday night that ended in a last-second loss.
The Pacers ended a three-game regular-season losing streak to the Magic. It was also their second straight game without forward Danny Granger, who is expected to miss a week resting a sore left knee.
Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 19 points.
Thunder 116, Bobcats 94
Kevin Durant had 19 points and seven assists, and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Charlotte Bobcats for their fourth straight victory.
Derek Fisher and Thabo Sefolosha both had 13 points for the Thunder, who blew open a close game with 19-0 run to start the second quarter. Serge Ibaka scored 12 points, and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin each chipped in with 11.
The Thunder shot 59 percent from the field in the first three quarters to build a 90-66 lead and rested their starters the rest of the way.
Gerald Henderson scored 21 points to lead the Bobcats, who have lost nine straight overall and 22 of their last 24 games at home.
Bulls 89, Jazz 88
Marco Belinelli made a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to lift the host Chicago Bulls to a victory over the Utah Jazz.
Belinelli missed a potential tying jumper, but got a second chance when Joakim Noah grabbed the rebound. Jimmy Butler then swung the ball back out to Belinelli in the corner, and he connected on the fallaway 3 to put Chicago in front to stay.
Gordon Hayward missed a jumper on the other end for Utah, and Butler secured the rebound as the horn sounded.
Belinelli and Carlos Boozer had 22 points apiece for Chicago, which opens a difficult three-game California road trip at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Al Jefferson scored 23 points in his return to the lineup for the Jazz.
Heat 102, 76ers 93
LeBron James scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 22 points and the host Miami Heat won again, pulling away late to beat the Philadelphia 76ers for their 17th straight victory.
Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Ray Allen added 12 and Shane Battier scored 11 for the Heat, who matched the 12th-longest winning streak in NBA history and became the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot this season.
Thaddeus Young scored 25 points and Dorell Wright added 14 for the 76ers.
Celtics 107, Hawks 102
Jason Terry hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in overtime and the Boston Celtics rallied after blowing a big lead in regulation and beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
The Celtics blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead and trailed by four in overtime before outshooting the Hawks from beyond the arc in overtime.
Jeff Green, Paul Pierce and Terry all hit 3-pointers in OT and the Celtics held the Hawks without a point for the final 1:20 to clinch Boston’s fifth straight win.
Trail Blazers 136, Spurs 106
Damian Lillard had 35 points and nine assists and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs to set a record for most points by an opponent at the AT&T Center.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 26 points and J.J. Hickson had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which handed San Antonio its worst loss this season. Eric Maynor added 20 points off the bench and Wesley Matthews had 15 points for the Trail Blazers.
