Brandon Miller made his first 10 shots from the field and finished with 30 points as Charlotte snapped Orlando’s three-game win streak with a 124-115 victory on Friday night.
Miles Bridges added 23 points and Grant Williams added 18 points as the Hornets won for only the second time in their last 11 games.
Paolo Banchero had 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Magic, while Franz Wagner added 22 points.
Orlando (45-32) came in tied with the New York Knicks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and hoping to take a step toward securing a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
TRAIL BLAZERS 108, WIZARDS 102
WASHINGTON (AP) — Deandre Ayton scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Portland sent Washington to a franchise record-tying 63rd loss.
Dalano Banton added 21 points and Scoot Henderson scored 19 for Portland, which won its second straight. Jabari Walker finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds to help the Trail Blazers to their first consecutive wins since the beginning of March.
Deni Avdija had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Washington, which had won four of its previous five. Jordan Poole added 20 points and Tristan Vukcevic had 17 for the Wizards, who have four games remaining.
PACERS 126, THUNDER 112
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, Aaron Nesmith had 17 and Indiana Pacers beat Oklahoma City for their ninth victory in 14 games.
Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton was held to eight points, but had 11 assists. With his 11th assist, a fourth-quarter pass setting up Nesmith’s 3-pointer, Haliburton broke the Pacers’ single-season record of 713 set by Mark Jackson in the 1997-98.
T.J. McConnell and Myles Turner added 16 points apiece for Indiana.
Lu Dort led Oklahoma City with 22 points. Fighting for the top spot in the Western Conference, the Thunder were without injured All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and second-leading scorer Jalen Williams.
CELTICS 101, KINGS 100
BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard had 21 points, including five 3-pointers and Boston held off a late charge to beat Sacramento.
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 11 rebounds – his second straight double-double – to help the NBA’s top team claim its 12th consecutive win at home one game after clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They’ve won 13 of their last 15.
De’Aaron Fox had 40 points for the Kings and banked in a go-ahead 26-footer with 27 seconds to play. But after Celtics reserve Xavier Tillman put Boston back in front, Fox misfired on a jumper – one of three potential game-winning shots tfor he Kings in the final seven seconds as the Celtics survived.
HEAT 116, ROCKETS 104
HOUSTON (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, and Bam Adebayo had 18 points and 12 rebounds to help Miami to a victory over Houston.
The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run, capped by two 3-pointers by Jalen Green, to cut the lead to 94-91 with about 10 minutes to go.
The Heat got 3-pointers from Caleb Martin, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in a 20-5 run after that to make it 114-96 with just more than four minutes remaining.
Green and Houston coach Ime Udoka received technical fouls during that stretch for yelling at the officials. Jeff Green made a 3-pointer for Houston with about eight minutes left, but the Rockets didn’t score again until a layup by Jock Landale four minutes later.
Herro had 17 points, six assists and five rebounds in his return after missing 20 games with knee and foot injuries. He didn’t start but played 25 minutes minutes after coach Erik Spoelstra said he’d be on a minutes restriction.
Jalen Green had 21 points and Dillon Brooks added 18 for the Rockets, who lost their fourth straight game after winning the previous 11.
