Larry Hughes scored 22 points and LeBron James had 18 to lead Cleveland to a 98-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, keeping the Cavaliers alive for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers could move up to No. 2 if they beat Milwaukee on Wednesday night and New Jersey beats Chicago, also on Wednesday. If they play like this against the Bucks, they'll surely be counting on the Nets to win and bump them up in the playoff race.
James added six assists in an all-around solid game and led a well-balanced Cavaliers attack that had six players score in double figures.
Joe Smith had 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Sixers. Willie Green scored 24 points, and Samuel Dalembert added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
CLIPPERS 103, SUNS 99: At Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers had to beat the best of the Phoenix Suns, if not the Suns at their best, to keep their playoff hopes alive with one game to go. Elton Brand scored 21 points to lead six Clippers in double figures and Los Angeles beat the Suns. Los Angeles needs to win Wednesday night at home against New Orleans and have Golden State lose at Portland to get the No. 8 seed in the West and a first-round playoff date with Dallas.
WARRIORS 111, MAVERICKS 82: At Oakland, Calif.,the Golden State Warriors have waited nearly 13 years to get back in the playoffs — and despite yet another win, they must wait one last night. Mickael Pietrus scored 22 points, Matt Barnes had 19 and the Warriors moved to the brink of their first postseason berth since 1994 with a 111-82 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
MAGIC 95, WIZARDS 89: At Washington, the Magic overcame Antawn Jamison's 48 points and kept up a last-minute push to improve their playoff seeding. Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points to lead the Magic, who are sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but could move as high as seventh if they beat Miami today.
PISTONS 100, RAPTORS 84: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Richard Hamilton scored 10 first-half points in a glorified exhibition game for both teams.
HAWKS 118, PACERS 102: At Atlanta, the Hawks set season highs for points in a quarter and a half as they finished another disappointing season by beating the Pacers.