Harden, Leonard score 25 points as Clippers top Hawks

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden (1), right, attempts to move the ball against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5), left on Friday in Atlanta. ERIK RANK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Image

ATLANTA >> James Harden and Kawhi Leonard each scored 25 points, with Harden scoring 13 in a dominant third quarter for Los Angeles, and the Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-98 on Friday night.

Leonard set a season high with five steals. Harden had eight rebounds and seven assists.

After trailing 61-53 at halftime, the Clippers outscored the Hawks 35-8 in a lopsided third quarter.

Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, making his return to Atlanta, scored 12 points and received an ovation and video tribute during a first-quarter timeout.

The Clippers acquired Bogdanovic and three second-round draft picks from the Hawks in exchange for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland on Feb. 6. The Hawks waived Hyland.

Celtics 103, Heat 91 >> Jayson Tatum scored 28 points, Jrue Holiday added 25 and Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat free-falling Miami.

Derrick White added 18 for Boston, which made 19 3-pointers. The Celtics outscored Miami 25-14 in the fourth quarter and their victory, combined with Atlanta’s loss to the Clippers, clinched a playoff spot for the defending NBA champions.

The Heat, who dropped their sixth straight and fell a season-low eight games below .500, got 23 points from Andrew Wiggins, 19 from Tyler Herro and 13 from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Pacers 112, 76ers 100 >> Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, and Indiana beat Philadelphia.

Myles Turner added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 10 assists as the Pacers ended a four-game road losing streak.

Rockets 133, Mavericks 96 >> Tari Eason scored a career-high 30 points to lead Houston to an easy win over Dallas.

Jalen Green added 23 points with nine rebounds, despite sitting the entire fourth quarter to help the Rockets to their fifth straight win, tying their longest such streak of the season.

Timberwolves 118, Magic 111 >> Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Minnesota rallied to beat Orlando for the Timberwolves’ seventh straight victory.

Down 90-82 with 10:23 left, Minnesota had a 13-0 run to take a 95-90 advantage. Donte DiVincenzo opened the run with reverse layup and capped it with another reverse layup and a driving floater.

Hornets 145, Spurs 134 >> LaMelo Ball had 27 points and 14 assists, and Charlotte made a franchise-record 26 3-pointers to roll past San Antonio.

Nick Smith Jr. scored a career-high 26 points for the Hornets. Miles Green added 21 and Josh Green had 20.

Cavaliers 133, Grizzlies 124 >> Evan Mobley had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Darius Garland added 20 points and nine assists and Cleveland recorded a franchise-record 16th straight victory with a win over Memphis.