DETROIT — Thaddeus Young scored 21 points Wednesday night and the Indiana Pacers took advantage of Blake Griffin’s absence to beat the Detroit Pistons, 108-89.
Griffin missed a third straight game for the Pistons, who are in the middle of a tight race for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. He’s been dealing with left knee soreness.
The Pacers snapped a 10-game losing streak on the road and won for just the third time in their last 10 games. Bojan Bogdanovic and Myles Turner scored 17 points apiece, and Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Indiana closed the third quarter with nine straight points, and Doug McDermott’s 3-pointer gave the Pacers a 78-62 lead.
Andre Drummond had 28 points and 19 rebounds for the Pistons, and Wayne Ellington scored 24 points.
BULLS 115, WIZARDS 114: Walt Lemon Jr., who started the season with the Maine Red Claws before being waived in late November, scored a career-high 24 points, including two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play, to help Chicago win at Washington to snap a five-game losing streak.
Lemon, in just his third game with Chicago, was one of the seven Bulls in double figures in the matchup of teams whose seasons will end without a playoff appearance.
JaKarr Sampson added 18 points for the Bulls.
Thomas Bryant scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Washington. Bobby Portis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Bradley Beal added 19 points.
MAGIC 114, KNICKS 110: Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and reserve Terrence Ross scored 23 points as Orlando won at home.
Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon had 19 points apiece for Orlando.
Mario Hezonja scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half for New York. Kevin Knox scored 21 points, and Emmanuel Mudiay had 13 points and 10 assists for the Knicks, who have lost 7 of 8.
New York cut a 13-point halftime deficit to two points late in the third quarter, but Ross singlehandedly stopped the rally with three straight 3-pointers that gave Orlando an 85-74 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
RAPTORS 115, NETS 105: Pascal Siakam had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 26 points and nine boards, and visiting Toronto earned its fifth straight victory.
Serge Ibaka finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors (56-23), who need to win their final three games to match last season’s franchise record for victories. Their victory prevented Milwaukee from clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
D’Angelo Russell had 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Nets, who fell to 39-39.
Brooklyn has lost 4 of 5.
HAWKS 130, 76ERS 122: Trae Young had 33 points and 12 assists, John Collins added 25 points, and Atlanta won at home to hand Philadelphia its second straight loss.
The Sixers began the night needing one victory and a loss by Boston to secure the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, but have dropped 4 of 6, a stretch that began with a last-second setback at Atlanta 10 days ago.
Philadelphia ended the regular season 1-3 against the rebuilding Hawks, this setback versus a 50-loss team that was coming off a loss at San Antonio a night earlier.
Coming off a lackluster loss at Dallas two nights ago, the Sixers were without center Joel Embiid for the third straight game. Forward Jimmy Butler returned from a one-game absence with back tightness and finished with 16 points.
HORNETS 115, PELICANS 109: Kemba Walker scored 21 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte won at New Orleans to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
The Hornets trailed by five in the middle of the fourth quarter when Walker’s 3 ignited a 14-6 run that put Charlotte in front for good. He hit a pair of driving layups and a second 3 during the decisive spurt.
Frank Kaminsky added 21 points and rookie Devonte Graham scored a career-high 13 points for the Hornets (36-42), who, with four games to play, sit 2½ games behind Orlando (39-40) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Julius Randle had 34 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which has dropped 5 of 6 games.
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