NBA ROUNDUP | Friday's games
76ers 104, Heat 85
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade had 25 points and eight assists to lead Miami over Philadelphia that secured the Eastern Conference's No. 2 playoff seed and home-court advantage for the first two postseason rounds for the Heat. Udonis Haslem scored a career-high 24 points and tied a season high with 14 rebounds for the Heat, who got contributions from all over the lineup. Antoine Walker scored 16 points, Shaquille O'Neal had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Gary Payton scored 10 points for Miami. Allen Iverson scored 30 points and Chris Webber added 17 and nine rebounds for the Philadelphia.
Bucks 97, Knicks 80
NEW YORK -- Michael Redd scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half, then Milwaukee blew open the game in the third quarter and beat New York. Knicks coach Larry Brown missed his first game of the season after he was hospitalized in Cleveland on Thursday night with a stomach ailment. He returned to New York on Friday, but assistant coach Herb Williams led the team. T.J. Ford had 14 points and 10 assists for the Bucks. Bobby Simmons had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Maurice Taylor scored 22 points for New York.
Raptors 108, Pistons 103
TORONTO -- Mike James scored 20 of his career-high 39 points in the fourth quarter to help Toronto end a 10-game losing streak. Morris Peterson added 20 points for the Raptors, who won their first game since All-Star forward Chris Bosh suffered a season-ending thumb injury on March 26. Chauncey Billups had 15 points -- on 6-for-6 shooting from the field -- and added 10 assists for the Pistons.
Nets 79, Celtics 74
BOSTON -- Richard Jefferson made five clutch free throws down the stretch and New Jersey played stellar defense to beat Boston. Jefferson scored 12 points and the Nets held the Celtics to 38 percent shooting (26-for-68). Vince Carter led the Nets with 15 points, but was only 4-for-16 from the field. Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Ryan Gomes added 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Celtics.
Bobcats 116, Hawks 110
ATLANTA -- Raymond Felton scored 27 points and Melvin Ely had 21 as Charlotte beat Atlanta. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 35 points.
Pacers 89, Timberwolves 77
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jermaine O'Neal had 29 points and 12 rebounds to help Indiana draw closer to clinching a playoff berth. It was O'Neal's highest point total since his return from a torn left groin a month ago. Indiana (39-40) is tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Milwaukee and Washington. The Pacers need to win two of their last three to avoid their first losing season since 1996-97. Eddie Griffin had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Banks added 15 points for the Timberwolves.
Bulls 103, Wizards 101
CHICAGO -- Ben Gordon made nine 3-pointers without a miss to tie the NBA record and scored 32 points to help Chicago take sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Gordon scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, and his 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds remaining put the Bulls ahead 103-101.
Jazz 105, Hornets 104
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Andrei Kirilenko had 25 points and nine rebounds and Deron Williams hit two free throws with 18 seconds left as Utah pulled closer in the race for the final playoff spot in the West. Chris Paul had two chances to win the game for the Hornets but was unable to convert. Kirilenko blocked a driving layup by Paul in the final seconds, but Paul was able to get the rebound on the floor and call timeout with 1.8 seconds to set up his final shot. David West had 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead New Orleans.
Associated Press