ATLANTA — Paul Millsap had 26 points and 12 rebounds to help the Atlanta Hawks enhance their playoff hopes with a 123-116 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
It was the 19th double-double of the season for Millsap, who played his second game after missing eight with left knee synovitis. Millsap was 8 of 15 from the field, 9 of 12 from the line and added four assists in 29 minutes.
The win moved Atlanta a half-game ahead of Milwaukee for fifth in the Eastern Conference. A loss would have dropped the Hawks only one game above the playoff line.
Boston lost for the second straight night, severely damaging any chance it had to win the conference. The Celtics were led by Isaiah Thomas with 35 points and Jae Crowder with 24. Marcus Smart made five 3-pointers and scored 18.
Wizards 106, Knicks 103
NEW YORK — Washington moved into a tie for third place with Toronto in the Eastern Conference with a victory over New York.
Bradley Beal topped the Wizards with 25 points. John Wall contributed 24 points and eight assists and Marcin Gortat recorded 16 points.
The Knicks received 23 points from Carmelo Anthony, 16 from Justin Holiday and 13 from Willy Hernangomez. Kristaps Porzingis was out with a sore lower back.
Pacers 104, Bucks 89
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George had 23 points and 10 rebounds as Indiana won consecutive games for the first time in two months.
The Pacers, who are tied for seventh with Chicago in the Eastern Conference, defeated Toronto on Tuesday night. Indiana had not won two in a row since beating Detroit on Feb. 4 and Oklahoma on Feb. 6.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 of his 25 points in the first three quarters for Milwaukee, which is one game ahead of the Pacers. Mirza Teletovic added 15, all on 3-pointers, but the Bucks committed 21 turnovers, which led to 29 Indiana points.
Bulls 102, 76ers 90
PHILADELPHIA — Nikola Mirotic scored 22 points, and Jimmy Butler added 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Chicago defeated Philadelphia.
Jerian Grant contributed 15 points, Joffrey Lauvergne had 14 and Bobby Portis chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 18 points and Justin Anderson had 17 to lead the 76ers, who dropped their fifth straight.
Magic 115, Nets 107
ORLANDO, Fla. — Elfrid Payton had 22 points and 11 assists, and Orlando snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Brooklyn.
Aaron Gordon had 21 points for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Jodie Meeks, starting in place of Evan Fournier, had 20 points while Mario Hezonja scored 11.
Jeremy Lin scored a season-high 32 points for the Nets, who never led in the second half and had their season-high three-game winning streak snapped.