Thursday 12 March 2015 08:23, UK
The injury-depleted Chicago Bulls got huge performances from Aaron Brooks and Pau Gasol to edge out Philadelphia 104-95 in overtime at the Wells Fargo Center.
Brooks scored a season-high 31 points while Gasol enjoyed a strong first half before finishing with 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Bulls registered a welcome victory after three consecutive heavy defeats.
Forward Nikola Mirotic added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who improved to 40-26 and climbed within one game of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the top of the Central Division.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and snared 14 rebounds as Portland beat Houston 105-100 at the Moda Center.
Forward Nicolas Batum collected 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists and center Robin Lopez chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (42-20), who moved ahead of the Rockets (43-21) into third place in the Western Conference playoff race.
Guard Chris Paul posted 33 points and nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 120-108 victory over Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The win enabled the Clippers (42-23) to move one game ahead of the idle San Antonio Spurs for fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
The Thunder (35-29) dropped a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth and final playoff position.
Guard Ben McLemore scored 27 points, forward Rudy Gay had 26 and road-weary Sacramento snapped a four-game losing streak with a 113-106 victory over Charlotte.
The Kings scored eight straight points, including six by center DeMarcus Cousins, to turn a 95-94 deficit into a 102-95 lead.
Forward Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points and forward Kenneth Faried had 14 points and four blocked shots as Denver beat Atlanta 115-102.
Forward Will Barton added 16 points off the bench as seven players scored in double figures for the Nuggets (24-41). Denver tied a season-high 13 three-pointers against the fourth-best scoring defense in the NBA.
Klay Thompson bombed in 10 of his game-high 27 points in a key stretch of the fourth quarter, allowing Golden State to survive a scare from Detroit to win 105-98.
The Warriors (51-12) matched last season's win total with 19 games remaining. The Pistons (23-41) lost their eighth consecutive game.
Still alive and kicking in the battle for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, Boston stunned Memphis 95-92, the team with the NBA's third-best record.
Playing without injured guard Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics out-scored the Grizzlies 8-2 over the final 51.6 seconds to win for the third time in four games. The victory closed Boston to within a game of the eighth-place Hornets in the East.
Shooting guard Dwyane Wade had 28 points and nine assists to lead Miami 104-98 past Brooklyn. Wade scored at least 25 points for the fourth consecutive game.
The Heat played without suspended center Hassan Whiteside, but they still moved past the Hornets into eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Besides Wade, Miami also got a boost from center Chris Andersen, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Forward Markieff Morris scored six of his 24 points during a 13-2 run late in the third quarter as Phoenix held off pesky Minnesota 106-97.
Guard Eric Bledsoe added 18 points and nine assists for the Suns, who snapped a two-game losing streak and moved within 2 1/2 games of idle New Orleans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Shooting guard Khris Middleton hit all four of his three-point attempts and finished with 30 points, and center Zaza Pachulia added 10 points and 12 rebounds as Milwaukee rallied for a 97-91 victory over Orlando.
Middleton hit 12-of-17 shots and scored 10 in the final quarter, including a three-pointer with 3:12 left that put the Bucks ahead for good.
