BOSTON: Rajon Rondo scored 16 points with 13 assists as the Boston Celtics moved into a share of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-82 Tuesday. With the win, the Celtics and Heat were tied at 54-23 with four games left. The Celtics would win the tiebreaker because they beat Miami in their first three meetings this season; the teams play again in Miami Sunday. Paul Pierce scored 18 points, Kevin Garnett had 14 and Ray Allen had 13 for Boston. Nenad Krstic scored eight points in 18 minutes after missing two games with bruised right knee, and Jermaine O'Neal had nine points in 12 minutes as the Celtics try to find big men to fill in for Shaquille O'Neal. Jazz 86, Lakers 85: At Los Angeles, rookie Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 22 points and hit the go-ahead free throw with 6 seconds to play as Utah snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory over Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant scored 20 points and hit a tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, but fumbled the ball away on an ill-conceived drive at the buzzer. Thunder 101, Nuggets 94: At Denver, Kevin Durant scored 32 points as Oklahoma City beat Denver in a possible first-round playoff preview. Warriors 108, Trail Blazers 87: At Portland, Oregon, David Lee had 29 points and a season-high 20 rebounds as Golden State beat Portland. Spurs 97, Hawks 90: At Atlanta, Tony Parker scored 26 points as San Antonio moved closer to home-court advantage in the playoffs by ending a four-game road losing streak. Bulls 97, Suns 94: At Chicago, Derrick Rose finished with 19 points and Luol Deng scored 18 as Chicago continued to close in on the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over Phoenix. The Bulls lead Miami and Boston by three games, with the Celtics visiting Thursday. Knicks 131, Raptors 118: At New York, Toney Douglas scored 28 points, and Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire each added 23 as New York closed within a half-game of sixth place in the Eastern Conference by routing Toronto. Other results: Nets 107, Timberwolves 105; Wizards 107, Pistons 105; Kings 104, Rockets 101; Clippers 82, Grizzlies 81; Cavaliers 99, Bobcats 89; Magic 78, Bucks 72.
