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Celtics barely hang on to lead in East

 
Published April 1, 2017

BOSTON — Isaiah Thomas scored 35, Jae Crowder had 18 and the Celtics rallied to beat the Magic 117-116 on Friday night to maintain their slim lead over the Cavaliers atop the Eastern Conference.

Former Gator Al Horford made two free throws with 1:22 left for a one-point Boston lead, then Orlando missed three shots down the stretch, including a driving layup attempt by Elfrid Payton with two seconds left.

The Celtics remained a half-game in front of Cleveland in the race for the No. 1 seed.

Horford and Jaylen Brown scored 12 each as Boston won its fifth in six games.

Aaron Gordon scored 20 of his 32 in the first half and had 16 rebounds, and Evan Fournier scored 20 for the Magic. Payton had a career-high 15 assists and added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Terrence Ross had 17 points and Jodie Meeks 13 off the bench for Orlando, which has lost three in a row and eight of 11.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: LeBron James scored 34, Kyrie Irving had 24 and the host Cavaliers ended a three-game losing streak with an easy 122-105 win over the 76ers. … Mike Conley scored 28 and the host Grizzlies clinched a playoff spot with a 99-90 victory over the Mavericks. … Kawhi Leonard scored 27 and the visiting Spurs rallied from 21 points down in the third quarter to beat the Thunder 100-95. Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists for his 39th triple double of the season. … Kemba Walker had 31 points and Marco Belinelli and Frank Kaminsky took over in the fourth quarter as the host Hornets preserved their slim playoff hopes with a 122-114 win over the Nuggets. … Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 and the visiting Knicks led nearly the entire way in beating the Heat 98-94. Miami still held onto the East's No. 7 seed. … DeMar DeRozan scored 40 and the Raptors rolled to their seventh straight home win over the Pacers, 111-100. … DeMarcus Cousins had 37 points and 13 rebounds in his first game against the Kings, and the host Pelicans routed Sacramento 117-89.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Wednesday after police say he was spotted speeding in suburban Detroit. … Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has a fractured right fibula and will be reevaluated in two weeks, ruling him out for the final seven games of the regular season. … 76ers center Jahlil Okafor's season is over because of a sore right knee. Philadelphia is also sitting forward Robert Covington because of right knee soreness and swelling. … Lakers rookie center Ivica Zubac will miss the rest of the season because of a high ankle sprain. … Mavericks guard Devin Harris was fined $25,000 over an altercation with an official that led to his ejection Friday. … Pelicans owner Tom Benson plans to own and operate a team in the NBA Development League.