Hornets wrestle away playoff spot

Paul leads way as New Orleans is first to clinch out West

Chris Paul had 33 points and 15 assists, and the host New Orleans Hornets became the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff berth by beating the New York Knicks 118-110 on Friday night.

Jamal Crawford had 29 points for the Knicks, who have lost 17 of 19 but stayed competitive into the fourth quarter. The Hornets trailed 95-91 with 10:20 left before putting away the game with a 26-9 run, getting 12 points from Peja Stojakovic during that spurt.

Stojakovic finished with 22 points, and David West added 17 for the Hornets, who won their 10th in a row at home. They were coming off a season-high six-game road trip in which they went 5-1.

New Orleans (53-22), which never has been better than a No. 4 seed in the playoffs, increased its lead on top of the Western Conference to 1 1/2 games over the San Antonio Spurs, who lost to Utah.

ALSO WEDNESDAY

JAZZ 90, SPURS 64: Mehmet Okur had 17 points and 16 rebounds, and host Utah ended San Antonio's eight-game winning streak.

San Antonio matched its lowest point total in franchise history, set in March 1997. The Jazz held the defending NBA champions without a point for almost the first 4 minutes of the fourth quarter.

WIZARDS 109, HEAT 95: Caron Butler scored 29 points, and host Washington beat Miami to clinch a playoff spot for the fourth straight season.

The Heat set a franchise record with 19 3-pointers and still couldn't beat the Wizards, who were without Antawn Jamison for the first time this season.

BOBCATS 105, RAPTORS 100: Jason Richardson scored 27 points, and Earl Boykins converted a three-point play after stealing the ball from T.J. Ford in the final minute of Charlotte's victory in Toronto.

Chris Bosh had 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched a playoff spot after New Jersey lost to Detroit. Toronto has lost three of four and 14 of 20.

WARRIORS 117, GRIZZLIES 86: Andris Biedrins had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and visiting Golden State climbed within a half-game of eighth-place Denver in the Western Conference.

Golden State, which snapped a two-game losing streak, had six players in double figures.

PISTONS 106, NETS 87: Antonio McDyess scored 19 points, Rasheed Wallace added 17 points and eight rebounds, and host Detroit beat New Jersey for its fourth straight victory.

PACERS 105, BUCKS 101: Mike Dunleavy had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and visiting Indiana pulled within three games of Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Troy Murphy scored 17 points, and Danny Granger added 13 for Indiana.

LATE THURSDAY

ROCKETS 95, TRAIL BLAZERS 86: Tracy McGrady scored 26 of his 35 points in the second half for visiting Houston, which snapped a two-game skid.

Rookie Aaron Brooks' 3-pointer with 3:06 left made it 91-78 for the Rockets and all but sealed the victory.

NOTES

YI TO MISS REST OF REGULAR SEASON: Milwaukee Bucks rookie forward Yi Jianlian will miss the final eight games of the regular season with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

The Bucks made the announcement Friday night before their game against the Indiana Pacers.

Yi, the No. 6 pick in the 2007 draft, hurt his knee early in the first quarter of the Bucks' victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Coach Larry Krystkowiak was optimistic that the 20-year-old Yi would be ready to play for China in this summer's Olympics.

WIZARDS BACK ARENAS: When Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas returned from surgery on his left knee to play Wednesday against Milwaukee, it was a surprise to many.

Two days later, the Wizards insist his return was expected.

Arenas, who missed 66 games, began the game shooting on Washington's practice court and arrived at the Wizards bench midway through the first quarter. He scored 17 points against the Bucks.

"We always said that when Gilbert was ready to play, he was going to play," said assistant coach Mike O'Koren, who was at the helm for an ailing Eddie Jordan. "He felt ready the other day, and he came out and played. We didn't feel slighted at all."