Heat 105, Hornets 100
Goran Dragic led a balanced effort with 28 points and five assists as the Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets in a pivotal game in the race for one of the Eastern Conference's final playoff berths.
With Boston and Indiana idle, the Heat (35-43) moved into ninth place and within a half game of the Celtics for the final playoff spot.
Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Pacers. The Heat also moved to a game-and-a-half behind idle Brooklyn for the seventh seed with four games remaining.
Hornets guard Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 29 points.
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Hawks 96, Suns 69
The Atlanta Hawks, who set a team record with 19 straight wins earlier in the season, now also own the franchise mark for victories in a season with their 58th.
DeMarre Carroll made all but one of his nine shots and the Hawks held the Phoenix Suns to 31.3 percent shooting.
The Hawks are 58-19 with five games left. The 1986-87 and 1993-94 teams won 57 games.
The loss was the sixth in seven games for the Suns, who fell to 39-39 and are out of the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
