nba roundup Monday’s other games

Knicks 109, Pistons 95

NEW YORK

Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 25 and New York handed Detroit another damaging defeat. Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game absence due to a sore left knee and added 21 as the Knicks snapped a five-game losing streak and avoided playoff elimination. Marcus Morris scored 20 points but Detroit dropped its fourth straight and fell 1 1/2 games behind Miami for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Ish Smith had 15 points while former starting point guard Reggie Jackson didn’t play. The Knicks shot 60 percent in the first half and turned it over to their defense to start the second, pitching a shutout for more than seven minutes to start the third quarter. The Pistons had already lost to Brooklyn, Chicago and Orlando during what should have been a favorable portion of their schedule to mount a playoff push, and coach Stan Van Gundy said his players were frustrated because of how badly their offense was struggling.

Raptors 131, Magic 112

TORONTO

DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points and Cory Joseph had 15 points and 13 assists as Toronto defeated Orlando for their sixth straight victory. DeRozan, selected the Eastern Conference player of the week earlier in the day, set the pace early by scoring 18 in the first quarter. Joseph added six rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors (45-29). Elfrid Payton had 22 points and nine assists for Orlando (27-47). Evan Fournier added 20 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 15 assists. It was the first game between the teams since the Raptors traded Terrence Ross to the Magic for Serge Ibaka in February. Ross finished with 17 points and two rebounds, while Ibaka had 16 points and seven rebounds.

Thunder 92, Mavericks 91

DALLAS

Russell Westbrook hit a pull-up jumper with seven seconds left and Oklahoma City erased a 13-point deficit in the final four minutes to beat Dallas. Westbrook scored 37 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, with 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his third straight triple-double and 37th of the season. The Thunder finished on a 14-0 run, capped when they gained possession on a replay reversal with 13 seconds to go and Westbrook hit the decisive shot from just beyond the free throw line over Wesley Matthews. Westbrook scored 12 of the final 14 points. Dallas didn’t call a timeout, and Harrison Barnes missed a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer, clinching the first losing season for the Mavericks (31-42) since 1999-2000, the season that owner Mark Cuban bought the team with Dirk Nowitzki in his second year.

Associated Press