(Adds later games)
April 14 (SportsDirect) - Highlights of Sunday's games in the National Basketball Association:
Lakers 91, Spurs 86
Dwight Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds and Steve Blake added 23 points as host Los Angeles won its first game since losing star Kobe Bryant to a season-ending injury.
Antawn Jamison chipped in 15 points off the bench for the Lakers, who moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Utah in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Spurs shot 37.1 percent and fell one game behind Oklahoma City for the top seed in the West.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Danny Green added 16 points. The Spurs have lost three of their last five games, while Los Angeles has won four straight and seven of its last eight.
Blake scored 18 points in the first half, which ended when the Spurs' Gary Neal hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 43. The Lakers used a 15-4 run to lead 84-73 lead with four minutes left before San Antonio rallied with six unanswered points.
The Spurs trailed 90-86 after Cory Joseph hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 left, but they missed their next three shots and the Lakers were able to snap a four-game losing streak against San Antonio. Spurs point guard Tony Parker missed nine of his 10 shots and sat out most of the fourth quarter.
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Heat 105, Bulls 93
LeBron James collected 24 points and seven rebounds and Dwyane Wade scored 22 as Miami knocked off visiting Chicago.
Mario Chalmers added 15 points and Chris Andersen had a season-high 15 off the bench for the Heat, who won their sixth straight.
Luol Deng had 19 points and Carlos Boozer recorded 16 and 20 boards as the Bulls dropped a game behind the Atlanta Hawks in the race for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Miami took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and never let it slip lower than seven. Mike Miller's 3-pointer with 1:16 left stretched it back out to 103-93 and put the game away.
James went 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line in the first half as Miami opened up a 15-point lead early in the second quarter. Nate Robinson struck fire for Chicago late in the half and had seven points during a 23-10 burst to end the second and cut it to 56-54 at the break.
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Mavericks 107, Hornets 89
Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points and became the 17th NBA player to reach 25,000 in his career to lift visiting Dallas.
Shawn Marion had 21 points and Brandan Wright and Vince Carter contributed 16 each as the Mavericks reached .500 (40-40) for the first time since Dec. 12. Dallas' players vowed in early February not to shave until the team got back to the .500 mark.
Ryan Anderson had 20 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which fell behind by as many as 27 points in the first half en route to its fourth straight defeat and eighth in the last 10 games.
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Nuggets 118, Trail Blazers 109
Andre Iguodala had 28 points and nine assists and Evan Fournier added a career-best 24 points as host Denver defeated Portland to set a franchise record with 55 victories.
Anthony Randolph scored a season-high 18 points as the Nuggets extended their club mark of consecutive home wins to 22. Ty Lawson added 12 points and 10 assists as Denver moved one game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies in the competition for the No. 3 seed.
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Raptors 93, Nets 87
DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 36 points and host Toronto held off a furious comeback to snuff out Brooklyn's bid for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Rudy Gay had 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors won their third straight and avoided a season sweep by snapping the Nets' four-game win streak.
Deron Williams scored 30 points and Brook Lopez added 16 for Brooklyn, which never led and trailed by as many as 21 points before trimming a 20-point deficit to two with just over 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The Nets will open the playoffs at home as the fourth seed against either Atlanta or Chicago.
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Knicks 90, Pacers 80
Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points to help host New York defeat Indiana to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Chris Copeland tallied 20 points and J.R. Smith added 15 as the Knicks won for the 15th time in 16 games. New York is the second seed in the East for the first time since 1994.
Lance Stephenson scored 22 points and David West added 17 for the Pacers, who remain two games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets in the battle for the No. 3 seed.
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76ers 91, Cavaliers 77
Dorell Wright led six players in double figures with 15 points off the bench as Philadelphia easily dispatched visiting Cleveland.
Thaddeus Young added 14 points and nine rebounds and Spencer Hawes and Jrue Holiday scored 14 apiece for the 76ers, who have won back-to-back games.
Tristan Thompson recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds and Kevin Jones added 11 and 10 off the bench as the Cavaliers' latest losing streak hit four games.
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Recap: Rockets 121, Kings 100
James Harden poured in 29 points to go with nine assists and Jeremy Lin added 15 points as host Houston cruised to its ninth win in its past 11 meetings with Sacramento.
Omer Asik collected 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who moved into a tie with Golden State for sixth place in the Western Conference. Houston holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Warriors. Chandler Parsons returned to the lineup after missing four games with a strained right calf and contributed 13 points in 27 minutes.
Travis Outlaw scored 15 points and fellow reserve Cole Aldrich set career highs with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who have lost six of their last seven. Sacramento shot 35.3 percent in the first half and 39 percent for the game.
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(Editing by Simon Evans)
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