SCOREBOARD
Monday, April 16
Phoenix at Houston (8:30 p.m. EDT). The Suns have won five straight.
STARS
Saturday
– Dwight Howard, Magic, scored a career-high 35 points and had 11 rebounds to keep Orlando alive for the playoffs with a 104-87 win over Philadelphia.
-Walter Herrmann, Bobcats, scored 30 points and Charlotte beat the Bucks 113-92 Saturday night.
– Steve Nash, Suns, had 18 assists to help Phoenix move one step closer to the No. 2 seed in the West with a 126-98 victory over Utah.
ALMOST THERE
Orlando can make the playoffs on Sunday if the Magic beat Boston and Indiana loses to New Jersey. Orlando beat Philadelphia 104-87 Saturday. … Phoenix beat Utah 126-98 to get closer to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Suns just need one more win or a loss by San Antonio to clinch the second-best record in the league. Only Dallas (64-14) has a better mark than Phoenix’s 61-19. … Houston is one win away from securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs after a 123-112 win over New Orleans.
SNAPPED
Denver’s eight-game winning streak came to an end with a 133-118 loss to the NBA-worst Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
BLOODIED
LeBron James shook off an early elbow to the face and scored 23 points in Cleveland’s 110-76 rout of Atlanta on Saturday night.
SPEAKING
“He definitely caught me pretty good. But I’m a football player, I’m all right.” – LeBron James, who was accidentally elbowed by Atlanta’s Josh Smith in the Cavaliers’ 110-76 win over the Hawks Saturday night. James played football in high school
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“There was no game plan at all to double-team the post, and yet we’ve got people running down there double-teaming,” Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak after Charlotte rookie Walter Herrmann scored 30 points on them in a 113-92 win Saturday night.