Dwight Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds as the resurgent Atlanta Hawks won their fourth straight game, routing the listless visiting Charlotte Hornets, 103-76, on Tuesday night to wrap up the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks will face the Washington Wizards in the opening round of the playoffs.
A week ago, Atlanta’s playoff hopes were in jeopardy after a dismal stretch that included two losses to Brooklyn, the worst team in the NBA.
Then, in a sudden turnaround that epitomized the team’s maddening inconsistency this season, the Hawks knocked off East-leading Boston and recorded two straight stunning victories over the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thunder 100, Timberwolves 98 — In Minneapolis, Victor Oladipo scored 20 points and hit a jumper with 6.3 seconds to play to lift Russell Westbrook-less Oklahoma City over Minnesota.
With Westbrook resting for the first time this season, Oladipo also had nine rebounds and six assists, and the Thunder outrebounded Minnesota, 54-35. Starters Taj Gibson and Andre Roberson also sat out as the Thunder prepare for a first-round series against Houston. Domantas Sabonis added 19 points and nine rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrew Wiggins overcame a 1-for-11 start to finish with 18 points for Minnesota. Wiggins missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Timberwolves lost their fifth straight game.
Nuggets 109, Maverickas 91 — Gary Harris scored 20 points and Denver beat host Dallas with the Mavericks honoring retiring Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo as a ceremonial player.
With nothing at stake in a lost season that will be the worst for Dallas (32-49) since going 20-62 in 1997-98, the Mavericks followed through with an idea hatched in part by star Dirk Nowitzki weeks ago when it was clear Romo wasn’t returning to the Cowboys. The soon-to-be-37-year-old quarterback had the crowd on its feet in the final minute hoping he could play, but Romo wasn’t on the roster or under contract.
Mason Plumlee and Malik Beasley scored 16 apiece in the first game for the Nuggets (39-42) since getting eliminated from the postseason race. Nowitzki scored 21 for Dallas.
It’s all down to one game for the Los Angeles Clippers to earn home-court advantage in the playoffs.
They routed the visiting Rockets, 125-96, on Monday night to remain tied with Utah in the race for the No. 4 playoff seed. Both teams are 50-31 with one game remaining before they meet in the playoffs with only home court to be decided.
‘‘Our destiny is in our hands,’’ said DeAndre Jordan, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds.
The Clippers host Sacramento on Wednesday, while the Jazz host San Antonio.
‘‘It’s about us,’’ Blake Griffin said. ‘‘This next game will be, too.’’
Chris Paul scored 19 points and Griffin added 18 in the Clippers’ sixth straight victory. Since they didn’t clinch home court, coach Doc Rivers will play his usual starters against the Kings.
Former Clipper Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 17 points. James Harden shot 2 of 9 for 14 points, well under his 29.3 average. He missed 5 of 6 3-pointers while playing 24 minutes.
‘‘I think the 81st game [of the season] stopped Harden,’’ Rivers said.
Neither team led by more than 8 points in the first half before the Clippers broke the game open in the third.
The Clippers outscored the Rockets, 36-12, to take a 97-69 lead.
‘‘They had to win,’’ Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said. ‘‘They came out in the second half with a little bit more determination than we had.’’
Griffin’s two free throws launched a 24-3 run, including 13 in a row highlighted by Jordan’s dunk off Paul’s alley-oop pass and J.J. Redick’s steal and 3-pointer. Griffin scored 8 in the third, while Paul and Redick added 7 apiece as the Clippers shot 52 percent.
Paul Pierce scored all of his 10 points in the game’s final five minutes. He moved into 15th on the NBA career scoring list with 26,397 points, overtaking former Celtic John Havlicek.
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Outside of giving Kevin Durant some additional time on the court, Golden State coach Steve Kerr thought it was more important to rest his starters in the fourth quarter than try to extend the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
With the playoffs starting this weekend, it was an easy decision.
Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 18 rebounds, Joe Johnson added a key 3-pointer with 80 seconds remaining, and the Utah Jazz beat Golden State, 105-99, on Monday night to snap the Warriors’ 14-game winning streak.
‘‘A win is a win,’’ Gobert said. ‘‘They didn’t put their starters back in at the end, but we were still in the game. We know the playoffs are going to be a different atmosphere, but it’s still a great win.’’
Utah won despite being without Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood, and Raul Neto, all of whom were nursing nagging injuries.
Kerr, his team already holding the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, sat most of his starters for the entire fourth quarter and the Jazz (50-31) took advantage to end a seven-game losing streak at Oracle Arena.
‘‘We didn’t have any injuries so that’s all good,’’ Kerr said. ‘‘They got 12 more field goal attempts than us. That was the difference in the game.’’
Stephen Curry had 28 points in three quarters for the Warriors (66-15), while Durant added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in his second game back following a knee injury.
With nothing at stake for the Warriors, the Jazz rode Gobert’s 7-point fourth quarter to their first win at Oracle Arena since April 7, 2013.
Gobert’s follow shot gave Utah an 83-82 lead with 7 minutes left. He later scored on an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Boris Diaw, then blocked a shot by Patrick McCaw to preserve the Jazz’s lead.
Golden State was also shorthanded, as Kerr rested Klay Thompson. He was joined on the bench in the fourth by most of the rest of the starters. Durant and Zaza Pachulia were the lone exceptions and Durant joined his teammates on the bench early in the final quarter.
