NEW ORLEANS — Forward Anthony Davis scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, including a running jumper in the lane and two critical free throws in the final 1:21, to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 103-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors and into the eighth playoff position in the Western Conference Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pelicans moved a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the West after the Thunder lost at home against San Antonio.
The Pelicans trailed the Warriors by 12 points at halftime, but they erased most of the lead with a 10-0 run to start the second half.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry tied the game at 100 for Golden State with a heavily guarded 3-pointer with 35.6 seconds left.
Spurs 113, Thunder 88
OKLAHOMA CITY — Forward Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points to lead San Antonio over Oklahoma City at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Spurs stretched their winning streak to eight games and now trail the idle Houston Rockets by only a game and half for second place in the Western Conference and the lead in the Southwest Division.
The Thunder have lost four straight games and six of their last seven. They are now two games behind the New Orleans Pelicans in the loss column for eighth in the West with only four games left in the regular season.
Guard Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting. He also had six steals and four turnovers in 26 minutes of action.
Hawks 96, Suns 69
ATLANTA — Atlanta already set a team record with 19 straight wins earlier in the season, now the Hawks have set a franchise mark for victories in a season with their 58th win.
Forward DeMarre Carroll made all but one of his nine shots and the Hawks held Phoenix to 31.3 percent shooting while winning before the team’s 22nd sellout in the past 25 games.
Guard Jeff Teague and forward Mike Muscala, filling in for Paul Millsap, joined Carroll with 16 points. Center Al Horford scored 14 and the Hawks shot 49.4 percent.
Heat 105, Hornets 100
MIAMI — Miami needed every available player to contribute if they were to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.
Goran Dragic led a balanced effort with 28 points and five assists as Miami defeated Charlotte in a pivotal game in the race for one of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff berths.
With Boston and Indiana idle, the Heat moved into ninth place and within a half game of the Celtics for the final playoff spot. Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Pacers.