Associated Press
The NBA roundup …
BOSTON ó Rajon Rondo scored 16 points with 13 assists and the Boston Celtics moved into a tie for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-82 on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Celtics and Heat were tied at 54-23 with four games left. The Celtics would win the tiebreaker because they beat Miami in their first three meetings this season; the teams play again in Miami on Sunday.
Paul Pierce scored 18 points, Kevin Garnett had 14 and Ray Allen had 13 for Boston, which is 8-8 in the past month.
Cavaliers 99, Bobcats 89
CLEVELAND ó Ramon Sessions scored 18 points to pace seven players in double figures, leading Cleveland over injury-depleted Charlotte.
Charlotte, which is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, trails Indiana by 21/2 games for the final playoff spot. The Bobcats, losers of three straight, have five games remaining while the Pacers have four games left.Spurs 97, Hawks 90
ATLANTA ó Tony Parker scored 26 points and San Antonio moved closer to home-court advantage in the playoffs by ending a four-game road losing streak.
Manu Ginobili had 18 points and Tim Duncan had 17 for the Spurs, who had been 0-6 on the road against Eastern Conference teams which have clinched playoff berths.
Knicks 131, Raptors 118
NEW YORK ó Toney Douglas scored 28 points, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire each added 23, and New York closed within a half-game of sixth place in the Eastern Conference by routing Toronto for its fourth straight victory.
Chauncey Billups had 13 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who can move ahead of the 76ers for the No. 6 seed when they travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday. Itís a rare big game in the springtime for the Knicks, usually long out of contention by now but headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2004.
Nets 107, Timberwolves 105
NEWARK, N.J. ó Deron Williams capped a career-tying 21-assist performance by hitting a game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds to play to lead New Jersey over Minnesota.
The game wasnít decided until Michael Beasley had a 3-pointer bounce off the rim at the buzzer.
Brook Lopez had a game-high 30 points and 12 rebounds and Sasha Vujacic added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets.
Wizards 107, Pistons 105
WASHINGTON ó John Wall scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Washington has its first three-game winning streak since 2008.
Wall, showing none of the complacency that might befall a rookie at the end of a long, losing season, also had 12 assists and six rebounds for the Wizards.
Magic 78, Bucks 72
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Dwight Howard had 18 points and 17 rebounds, Jameer Nelson scored 17 and Orlando beat Milwaukee.
Coupled with Atlantaís 97-90 loss to San Antonio, the Magic clinched the No. 4 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.