Coby White scored 24 points and the short-handed Chicago Bulls rallied past the depleted Mavericks 115-112 on Friday night, eliminating Dallas from play-in contention a year after the club reached the Western Conference finals.
With this elimination, all three Texas-based NBA teams (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio) will miss the playoffs for the first time in history.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd said before the game an ‘organizational decision’ was made to limit Luka Doncic to the first quarter while sitting fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving and four other regulars before the club was eliminated from the postseason. Now Irving, who demanded a trade out of Brooklyn to a playoff contender, will miss the playoffs entirely.
Despite the move, the Mavericks led by double digits when Markieff Morris scored 13 points in the second quarter and rookie Jaden Hardy hit a half-court shot to beat the halftime buzzer for a 67-54 lead.
Neither Morris nor Hardy played in the second half, and a lineup filled mostly with players who spent the season at the end of the Dallas bench lost the lead but kept the game close.
McKinley Wright IV’s layup got Dallas within a point with 39 seconds left before Dalen Terry scored on an alley-oop dunk from White with 23 to go.
Theo Pinson missed a potential tying 3-pointer for Dallas, which had three more attempts at a tying 3 in the final seconds.
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, left, and Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (9) talk on the court
The loss also clinched the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the Western Conference for Oklahoma City.
Irving was out for right foot injury recovery. The others sitting with him were Tim Hardaway Jr. with left ankle soreness, Maxi Kleber for right hamstring injury recovery and Josh Green and Christian Wood for rest.
The Bulls sat their top two scorers in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, but they are already locked in to the 10th seed in the East. Patrick Williams scored 23 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Doncic, who scored 13 points, ended up playing a few seconds into the second quarter on a night when the Mavericks paid tribute to his home country of Slovenia.
Kyrie Irving, who joined the Mavs to push for the playoffs, won’t play in the postseason
Keeping Doncic in was an apparent attempt to get him an ovation after Kidd suggested before the game it would be the 24-year-old superstar’s final action of the season. The move didn’t work because fans didn’t seem aware and therefore didn’t cheer.
Kidd said the decision was made by owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison to rest most of the regulars. Dallas entered the game tied with Chicago for the 10th-worst record in the NBA.
If the Mavericks have a top-10 pick in the draft in June, they get to keep it. If the pick is 11th or lower, it goes to the New York Knicks as final payment for Dallas’ trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. Next month’s draft lottery will determine the final order.
Wright joined Doncic and Morris with 13 points to lead the Mavs.
The loss means the Oklahoma City Thunder have locked up the 10th seed in the West
GRIZZLIES 137, BUCKS 114
Jaren Jackson had 36 points, Luke Kennard added 19 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season.
Memphis entered the game with a two-game lead over Sacramento for second place in the West, but the Kings owned the tiebreaker. Denver took the No. 1 seed in the West on Wednesday night. The win now means the Kings are locked into the third seed in the West.
After trailing by one point at the half, Memphis took command with a 24-7 run to start the third. The Grizzlies led by 24 in the quarter and held the Bucks at bay throughout the remainder of the game.
Lindell Wigginton had 25 points and Jae Crowder a season-high 24 to lead Milwaukee. Wigginton had a total of eight points in limited action this season prior to Friday´s output. He also had 11 assists.
The Bucks, who clinched the NBA’s best record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory over Chicago on Wednesday, sat six players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
Antetokounmpo, who also sat out Wednesday, was listed on the injury report with a sore right knee. Holiday and Lopez rested, while Middleton was held out with a right knee issue.
Memphis Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane drives past Milwaukee Bucks’ MarJon Beauchamp
CELTICS 121, RAPTORS 102
Sam Hauser scored a career-high 26 points and the Boston Celtics cruised past the Toronto Raptors 121-102 on Friday night.
Jayson Tatum finished with 21 points and sat out the entire second half as the Celtics posted a 4-0 sweep in the season series. It is Boston´s first sweep over Toronto since 2009-10.
The Celtics, who secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs in Wednesday’s win over Toronto, played without All-Star Jaylen Brown after he accidentally cut a finger on his shooting hand on Thursday. He also will miss Sunday’s regular-season finale against Atlanta but expects to be ready to go in time for the start of the postseason.
Boston will face the winner of Miami and Atlanta in the first round.
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (0) shoots against Toronto Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl (19)
76ers 136, HAWKS 131 (OT)
The Philadelphia 76ers managed to gain momentum for the playoffs even while resting all their starters. It’s easy to see why coach Doc Rivers was giddy afterward.
Georges Niang scored 24 points, including a decisive 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, as the 76ers used a lineup of backups to beat the Atlanta Hawks 136-131 on Friday night.
Niang scored eight points in overtime. Jalen McDaniels scored 24 points with 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who were already locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Philadelphia will play Brooklyn in the first round.
Rivers assembled a lineup of backups that included Jaden Springer, who had a career-high 19 points only hours after his arrival from the G League.
76ers center Montrezl Harrell, left, shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu
PELICANS 113, KNICKS 103
Trey Murphy scored 31 points, C.J. McCollum added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans improved their chances of avoiding the play-in round with a 113-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
The Pelicans (42-39) will need to beat Minnesota on the road in their regular-season finale Sunday and get some help from some combination of Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers to climb higher than the seventh seed.
The Knicks, locked into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, were without leading scorer Julius Randle (ankle injury), second-leading scorer Jalen Brunson (right hand) and center Mitchell Robinson (rest).
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) battles against Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr.
WIZARDS 114, HEAT 108
Daniel Gafford had 22 points and eight rebounds, and the Washington Wizards beat the Miami Heat 114-108 on Friday night in a meeting of short-handed teams.
Corey Kispert scored 19 points for Washington, and Jordan Goodwin added 16 points. The Wizards have been without three-time All-Star Bradley Beal for the last nine games because of a sore left knee.
Washington (35-46) stopped a four-game losing streak.
Victor Oladipo scored 20 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and hit seven 3-pointers for Miami, which rested six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and two other starters from Thursday’s 129-101 win at Philadelphia.
Heat guard Victor Oladipo (4) reaches for the ball against Wizards guard Kendrick Nunn (20)
PISTONS 122, PACERS 115
Jaden Ivey relished taking the stage in front of his family and friends Friday night. Then he stole the show.
The rookie finished with 29 points and nine assists, and Killian Hayes scored a career-high 28 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 122-115. It was just Detroit’s second win since the All-Star Break – both against the Pacers to snap 11-game losing streaks.
‘I felt all the nerves, the happiness, the energy,’ Ivey said. ‘It’s always fun to come back to your home state. I have a lot of memories here so it’s great and I’m glad we got the win.’
Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, left, shoots against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith
ROCKETS 112, HORNETS 109
Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green each had 26 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Hornets 112-109 on Friday night.
Kenyon Martin Jr. added 14 points, Alperen Sengun had 14 points and 21 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 13 points. The Rockets won consecutive games for the fifth time this season, improving to 21-50.
The Hornets (26-55) played their home finale without injured starters LaMelo Ball (right ankle surgery), Gordon Hayward (left thumb sprain), Terry Rozier (right foot injury), P.J. Washington (right foot sprain) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (left shoulder sprain) and top reserve Dennis Smith (right toe sprain).
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Svi Mykhailiuk led Charlotte with 25 points, Theo Maledon had 22 and Bryce McGowens 16.
Rockets center Boban Marjanovic, left, keeps the ball away from Hornets center Nick Richards
