OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — The Oklahoma City Thunder clinched home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs by beating Sacramento 104-95 Monday behind a 29-point effort from Kevin Durant. Durant also had eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder who scored 62 points in the paint compared to just 46 for the Kings in front of a crowd of 18,203 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Russell Westbrook finished with 21 points and eight assists, while Serge Ibaka had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win. Isaiah Thomas was the lone starter to reach double figures for the Kings as he finished with 16. Travis Outlaw had 15 points while Cole Aldrich posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Thunder's victory also means they completed the sweep of Sacramento in the season series. Jazz 96, Timberwolves 80: Al Jefferson had 22 points and eight rebounds and visiting Utah defeated Minnesota to move within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Mo Williams scored 15 points and Randy Foye added 14 as the Jazz beat the Timberwolves for the fourth consecutive time this season. Utah close the regular season by visiting the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday and hold the tiebreaker edge with the Lakers. Derrick Williams scored 18 points, Dante Cunningham tallied 12 and J.J. Barea added 11 for the Timberwolves. Nuggets 112, Bucks 111: Ty Lawson finished a 26-point night with the go-ahead jumper in the closing seconds as visiting Denver secured home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Wilson Chandler scored 21 points for the Nuggets, who have won seven of eight and are on the verge of locking up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. They lead Memphis by one game and the Los Angeles Clippers by 1 1/2 with one game to play. Monta Ellis had 38 points and a four-point play with 14.2 seconds left that gave the Bucks a short-lived 111-110 lead. Lawson answered with a jumper with 9.3 ticks remaining. Grizzlies 103, Mavericks 97: Jerryd Bayless scored 19 points as visiting Memphis got a season-high 64 points from their bench and won for the fourth time in five games. Nets 106, Wizards 101: Andray Blatche had 20 points and 12 rebounds and scored the tiebreaking basket with 55.5 seconds remaining as shorthanded Brooklyn rallied to beat visiting Washington. Bulls 102, Magic 84: Carlos Boozer scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures as visiting Chicago cruised to their fifth straight win over Orlando. Elsewhere it was: Bobcats 106, Knicks 95; Heat 96, Cavaliers 95; Pistons 109, 76ers 101; Warriors 116, Spurs 106; Suns 119, Rockets 112. — Agencies
