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Cavaliers clinch top seed in East
Associated Press

LeBron James scored 34 points in three quarters, Kyrie Irving added 35, and the Cavaliers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 109-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at Cleveland.

James scored 19 in the third quarter and only sat for four of the first 36 minutes as the Cavs ensured they’ll have home-court advantage until the NBA Finals.

Kent Bazemore scored 23 points and Jeff Teague had 21 for the Hawks, who came in holding the East’s No. 3 seed. Atlanta has lost seven in a row to Cleveland, which swept the Hawks in last year’s conference finals.

Mavericks 101, Jazz 92 — Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points as visiting Dallas clinched the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference playoffs, leaving one remaining postseason slot.

Utah (40-41) lost control of its own destiny and needs to beat the Lakers on Wednesday and for the Rockets (40-41) to lose to the Kings. The Rockets hold the tiebreaker against the Jazz if they finish with the same record.

Rockets 129, Timberwolves 105 — James Harden scored 34 points and Dwight Howard had 19 points and eight rebounds to keep visiting Houston’s playoff hopes alive.

Thunder 112, Lakers 79 — Kevin Durant scored 34 points and Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime as Oklahoma City pounded Los Angeles in the final road game of Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career. Bryant looked vintage in the first quarter with 13 points, but he went scoreless the rest of the way.

Wizards 120, Nets 111 — Ramon Sessions had 21 points and 12 assists and Washington recovered after blowing all of its 20-0 lead to beat host Brooklyn.

Bulls 121, Pelicans 116 — Jimmy Butler scored 12 of his 23 points in the last six minutes for visiting Chicago.

Magic 107, Bucks 98 — Ersan Ilyasova scored 22 points and Mario Hezonja added 19 to help host Orlando win its home finale.