Jazz clinches division with win over Hornets
Mehmet Okur had 22 points and 17 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz clinch the Northwest Division and snap the New Orleans Hornets' 11-game home winning streak, 77-66 on Tuesday night.
Deron Williams had 16 assists and outplayed Chris Paul as the Jazz took a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter and cruised from there, holding New Orleans to its lowest point total of the season.
Peja Stojakovic scored 15 points for New Orleans, which shot a woeful 3-of-14 on 3-pointers and 37 percent overall as its five-game winning streak came to an end. David West had 14 points.
Pacers 112, Hawks 98: Mike Dunleavy scored 28 points, and host Indiana beat Atlanta to avoid elimination from the Eastern Conference playoff race.
A win by the Hawks would have knocked the Pacers from playoff contention, and Atlanta would have needed just one win or a New Jersey loss the rest of the way to clinch a berth. Instead, the Pacers are just two games behind the Hawks for the eighth spot with four games left. The Pacers also claimed the tiebreaker against the Hawks by winning two of the three matchups this season.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 30 points.
Celtics 107, Bucks 104 (OT): The Big Three were back to build a big lead, but the reserves coughed it up and forced Boston to use overtime to beat host Milwaukee for its seventh straight victory.
Garnett scored 21 points, Allen had 11 and Pierce, who returned to the team after the birth of his daughter, had 14.
Suns 127, Grizzlies 113: Amare Stoudemire had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Phoenix beat host Memphis despite playing without Shaquille O'Neal, who had a right hip contusion.
Rudy Gay matched his career high with 36 points for Memphis.
Mavericks 99, Sonics 83: Jason Terry scored 22 points, Josh Howard added 17, and Dallas crept closer to a playoff berth while sending visiting Seattle to its club-record 60th loss.
Earl Watson had 22 points and 8 assists for Seattle. Kevin Durant added 16 points, and Jeff Green and Nick Collison each had 11.
Knicks 98, Pistons 94: Wilson Chandler scored all of his 19 points in the first half, and New York built a huge lead and beat host Detroit.
Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince each scored 11 points for the Pistons, who had won five straight.
Jamal Crawford scored 16 for New York, which has won two straight after losing 10 of 11 games.
Bobcats 121, T'wolves 119: Jason Richardson scored 36 points, and Charlotte avoided a collapse against one of the league's worst teams to hold off Minnesota.
The Bobcats coughed up an 18-point, first-half lead and gave the lowly Timberwolves a chance to tie the game. But Al Jefferson, who matched a career high with 40 points, missed an open 19-foot jumper at the buzzer.