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Jalen Johnson recorded the first triple-double of his career and the Atlanta Hawks clinched a spot in the play-in tournament with a 121-113 win over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Johnson scored a career-high-tying 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting while grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out a career-high 11 assists. Dejounte Murray was the last Hawk to record a triple-double, doing so on November 5, 2022.
The Pistons stayed close because of a 50-point performance by Malachi Flynn. He was 18-for-25 from the field, hitting five 3-pointers, and set a franchise record for most points scored by a reserve.
The Hawks, winners of six of their past seven games, moved into a tie with the idle Chicago Bulls for ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The victory gave Atlanta a three-game sweep of the season series with the Pistons and extended its winning streak vs. Detroit to seven games.
Celtics 135, Thunder 100
Kristaps Porzingis had 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to help Boston clinch the No. 1 overall seed and secure home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, beating Oklahoma City at home. Porzingis, who was 11 of 14 from the field, has scored at least 17 points in each of his past 13 games. Jayson Tatum added 24 points and Jaylen Brown added 23 for Boston.
Timberwolves 133, Raptors 85
Anthony Edwards had 28 points and six assists and Minnesota pulled away for a demolition of Toronto in Minneapolis. Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick and Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 16 points apiece to lead the Raptors, who lost their 15th game in a row. The franchise’s worst skid was a 17-game run during the 1997-98 season.
Lakers 125, Wizards 120
Anthony Davis had 35 points to go along with 18 rebounds and all five Los Angeles starters scored in double figures as the Lakers capped a 5-1 road trip with a win at Washington.
Reserves only accounted for 12 of Los Angeles’ points, with LeBron James supplying 25 points and Rui Hachimura posting 19 on 9-of-12 shooting.
The starters’ contributions gave Los Angeles its eighth win in the past nine games while comfortably keeping the Lakers in a Western Conference play-in spot, five games ahead of Houston, the first team outside play-in position. – Reuters
Online Reporter