AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Joe Johnson scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat moved into a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference by downing the Detroit Pistons 99-93 Tuesday.
The Heat and the Atlanta Hawks are both 48-33, and the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets are both 47-34 as the four teams fight for the third through sixth seeds in the East playoffs. Miami would be assured of home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs if its wins its regular-season finale Wednesday at Boston.
Luol Deng contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds and Goran Dragic had 16 points for the Heat. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Detroit with 17 points, and Marcus Morris supplied 16 points and nine rebounds.
Pacers 102, Knicks 90
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana overcame New York’s 36-point first quarter and defeated the Knicks behind 19 points each from Paul George and George Hill.
The Pacers outscored New York by 19 points during the final three quarters to finish the regular season 26-15 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Ian Mahinmi added 14 points, Myles Turner had 13 and Rodney Stuckey scored 10 for Indiana.
New York’s Derrick Williams led all scorers with 21 points. Jerian Grant added 18 and Arron Afflalo had 13 for the Knicks, who finished the season with a 32-50 record.
Raptors 122, 76ers 98
TORONTO — Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and each Toronto starter scored in double figures as the Raptors defeated Philadelphia.
All told, seven Raptors hit double digits on the score sheet as Toronto beat Philadelphia for the 12th straight time by taking control of the game in the third quarter.
The 76ers lost for the 15th time in 16 games despite getting a game-high 24 points from Robert Covington, who sank six 3-pointers.