James earns Cavs Eastern Conference’s top seed, Mavericks clinch play-off berth
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving combined as the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the NBA Eastern Conference’s top seed thanks to a 109-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
James posted 34 points in three quarters and Irving contributed 35 points starred as the Cavs (57-24) secured home-court advantage until the Finals.
Kevin Love had a double-double for the Cavs, who secured the conference’s top seed for the third time in franchise history.
Kent Bazemore (23 points) and Jeff Teague (21) led the way for the Hawks (48-33), who could not avoid a seventh-straight defeat against Cleveland.
The Dallas Mavericks sealed their spot in the post-season courtesy of a 101-92 win over the Utah Jazz.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points as the Mavericks (42-39) made sure of seventh spot in the Western Conference.
The win meant there is just one play-off spot still available, with the Jazz (40-41) and Houston Rockets (40-41) fighting for the eighth seed.
The Rockets kept their hopes alive after rolling past the Minnesota Timberwolves 129-105.
Houston are now tied with the Jazz for the eighth seed with just one game left to play.
The Rockets face the Sacramento Kings on the final day, while the Jazz are up against the Los Angeles Lakers.
A poor second-half from the Lakers saw them suffer a 112-79 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Kobe Bryant’s last road trip.
Russell Westbrook was in dominating form for the Thunder, managing a triple-double before half-time, his league-leading 18th of the season, before finishing with 13 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Bryant recorded 13 points in 19 minutes on court.
In other results, the Kings defeated the Phoenix Suns 105-101, the Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks 107-98, the Charlotte Hornets topped the Boston Celtics 114-100, the Washington Wizards downed the Brooklyn Nets 120-111 and the Chicago Bulls edged the New Orleans Pelicans 121-116.
