NBA Roundup Wednesday’s other games

April 9, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Celtics 106, Nets 104

BOSTON — Rajon Rondo had 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and the Celtics overcame an early 10-point deficit and a last-minute scare. The Celtics, coming off four days of rest, assured themselves of a lead over the Orlando Magic in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Vince Carter had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who were eliminated from the playoff race. Boston played its fifth straight game and 18th of 22 without forward Kevin Garnett.

Pistons 113, Knicks 86

NEW YORK — Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, Rasheed Wallace had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and the Pistons rolled into a tie for seventh place in the East. Antonio McDyess added 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, who pulled even with Chicago for the No. 7 seed and lowered their magic number to one to clinch their eighth consecutive playoff berth.

Trail Blazers 95, Spurs 83

SAN ANTONIO — Brandon Roy scored 26 points and the Trail Blazers took a big stride in the race for home-court advantage. Clawing back from an early 19-point deficit, Portland won in San Antonio for the first time since 2002 — and the timing was perfect. Portland moved into a three-way tie with the Spurs and Houston for the third-best record (50-28) in the West with four games left. The Trail Blazers also took the season series 3-1. Roger Mason scored 18 points for the Spurs.

Magic 81, Grizzlies 78

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points, Dwight Howard added 14 and the Magic rallied to beat the pesky Grizzlies. J.J. Redick had all nine of his points in the fourth quarter to spark a 19-7 run, helping the Magic overcome an eight-point deficit.

Suns 105, Hornets 100

NEW ORLEANS — Steve Nash had 24 points and 17 assists, and the Suns survived. Shaquille O’Neal had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Nash made six free throws in the final 42 seconds. Chris Paul had 29 points and 16 assists for New Orleans.

Hawks 113, Bucks 105

MILWAUKEE — The Hawks took another step toward earning home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Joe Johnson scored 30 points and made a pair of big shots down the stretch for the Hawks.

Pacers 130, Raptors 101

INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Granger scored 29 points, and the Pacers had their highest point total and margin of victory of the season.

Associated Press