CHICAGO — Ben Gordon scored 32 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer, and the Chicago Bulls took sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 103-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
Gordon was 9-of-9 on 3-pointers for the game.
The Wizards lost their fifth straight and fell into a three-way tie with Milwaukee and Indiana for fifth place, with the Bulls a game back and ninth-place Philadelphia two behind.
Gordon scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, and his 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds left put the Bulls ahead 103-101. He also grabbed a key defensive rebound after Jared Jeffries missed, and Jeffries charged into Andres Nocioni with 0.4 seconds left.
It was a rough ending for Jeffries, who had given the Wizards a 101-100 lead on consecutive dunks with about 1 minute remaining.
Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points, and Nocioni added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls, who won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Luol Deng scored 16 after missing three games with a concussion suffered in a collision with teammate Eric Piatkowski during last Saturday's shootaround. As if that wasn't enough, Deng needed stitches on his left eyebrow after taking a shot from Luke Schenscher during Thursday's practice.
Washington's Gilbert Arenas scored just four of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter. It was the 40th game with 30 or more points this season for Arenas, who began the night fourth in the NBA at 29.1 per game.
Antonio Daniels scored 14 of his 20 during the second quarter. He suffered a mild left knee strain at the end of the first half when he slipped while dribbling, but started the third quarter.
Antawn Jamison added 16 points and nine rebounds.
HEAT 104, SIXERS 85: At Miami, Dwyane Wade had 25 points and eight assists to lead Miami to securing the Eastern Conference's No. 2 playoff seed and home-court advantage for the first two postseason rounds for Miami.
Udonis Haslem scored a career-high 24 points and tied a season high with 14 rebounds for the Heat, who got contributions from all over the lineup.
Antoine Walker scored 16 points, Shaquille O'Neal had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Gary Payton scored 10 points for Miami.
Allen Iverson scored 30 points and Chris Webber added 17 and nine rebounds for the Philadelphia, which lost for the first time in four games. The 76ers entered the night tied with Chicago for the East's final postseason spot.
BUCKS 97, KNICKS 80: At New York, Michael Redd scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half, then Milwaukee blew open the game in the third quarter and beat New York.
Knicks coach Larry Brown missed his first game of the season after he was hospitalized in Cleveland on Thursday night with a stomach ailment. He returned to New York on Friday, but assistant coach Herb Williams led the team.
T.J. Ford had 14 points and 10 assists for the Bucks, who entered play tied with Indiana for sixth place in the Eastern Conference and can still finish fifth. Bobby Simmons had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Maurice Taylor scored 22 points for New York.
RAPTORS 108, PISTONS 103: At Toronto, Mike James scored 20 of his career-high 39 points in the fourth quarter to help Toronto end a 10-game losing streak.
James, who scored Toronto's last 13 points, surpassed his previous career high of 38, set Nov. 16 against Philadelphia.
Morris Peterson added 20 points for the Raptors, who won their first game since All-Star forward Chris Bosh suffered a season-ending thumb injury on March 26.
Chauncey Billups had 15 points — on 6-for-6 shooting from the field — and added 10 assists for the Pistons, who already clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Detroit rested its starters in the fourth quarter.
NETS 79, CELTICS 74: At Boston, Richard Jefferson made five clutch free throws down the stretch and New Jersey played stellar defense to beat Boston.
Jefferson scored 12 points and the Nets held the Celtics to 38 percent shooting (26-for-68).
After matching the franchise record with 14 straight victories, the Nets had dropped three of four before Friday's win.
Vince Carter led the Nets with 15 points, but was only 4-for-16 from the field.
Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Ryan Gomes added 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Celtics. Gomes had only four points and two rebounds in the second half.
BOBCATS 116, HAWKS 110: At Atlanta, Raymond Felton scored 27 points and Melvin Ely had 21 as Charlotte beat Atlanta to win the season series, three games to one.
The win left last-place Charlotte only one game behind Atlanta in the Southeast Division. The victory boosted the Bobcats' hopes of finishing ahead of the Hawks in the division for the second straight season.
Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 35 points.
PACERS 89, TIMBERWOLVES 77: At Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal had 29 points and 12 rebounds to help Indiana draw closer to clinching a playoff berth.
It was O'Neal's highest point total since his return from a torn left groin a month ago.
Stephen Jackson scored 17 points and Anthony Johnson added 12 for the Pacers in their third straight victory.
Indiana (39-40) began the night in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers need to win two of their last three to avoid their first losing season since 1996-97. They haven't missed the playoffs since 1998.
Eddie Griffin had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Banks added 15 points for the Timberwolves, who have long been out of the Western Conference playoff hunt.