CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Mike Conley had 18 points and seven assists as Memphis rallied to beat Charlotte 85-80 on Friday night, extending the Bobcats' franchise-worst losing streak to 19 games.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Mike Conley had 18 points and seven assists as Memphis rallied to beat Charlotte 85-80 on Friday night, extending the Bobcats' franchise-worst losing streak to 19 games.

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(Reuters) - Paul Pierce nailed a vital jump shot in the closing seconds to ensure the Boston Celtics clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 102-98 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Pierce made up for the absence of injured All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo by dishing out 14 assists, but his pull-up jumper with seven seconds remaining to give the Celtics a four-point lead was probably his most telling contribution. ...

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The New York Knicks got one step closer to a playoff berth on April 17 by defeating the Boston Celtics 118-110. Carmelo Anthony had a triple-double for the game with 42 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Paul Pierce led the Celtics in scoring with 43 points of his own.

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NEW YORK (AP) Carmelo Anthony had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the New York Knicks made 19 3-pointers to preserve their Atlantic Division title hopes with a 118-110 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

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NEW YORK (AP) Carmelo Anthony had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, and the New York Knicks made 19 3-pointers to preserve their Atlantic Division title hopes with a 118-110 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

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The Los Angeles Clippers posted an impressive win on Monday night, notching a 92-77 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder — their second straight over the Kevin Durant- and Russell Westbrook-led crew — to extend their winning streak to four and stay just a game back of the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with five games to play. It was an impressive win that saw some impressive performances off the L.A. bench, which chipped in 36 points on just under 50 percent shooting for the game, plus 17 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks. After the game, Clippers guard Nick Young — who did the lion's share of the damage, leading the Clips in scoring with 19 points on 10 shots in reserve duty — dapped up his fellow second-unit players for their contributions. From Beth Harris of The Associated Press : ''We're one of the best second units in the league,'' said Young, who joined the Clippers a month ago in a trade from Washington. ''I'm excited. I was waiting for one of these type of games. To get it tonight against one of the league's top teams was great.'' It's good for Nick Young to think that — I'm sure coach Vinny Del Negro doesn't want his reserves to think that they stink or anything, and a Nick Young without confidence is a Nick Young less likely to take quite as many irrational long jumpers. (Wait, that might be a good thing.) Realistically, though, he is wrong, and he's pumping the L.A. reserves' tires in a way that defies reality. The Clippers bench is not one of the best benches in the league. Like, definitely not.

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Derrick Rose felt ready to start on Thursday night, but it was very apparent that he wasn't ready to finish. Luckily for the Chicago Bulls, C.J. Watson was. With Rose struggling mightily in his return to the lineup after missing Tuesday night's win over the New York Knicks with a sprained right ankle , backup point guard Watson stepped in and stepped up in 27 huge minutes off the Chicago bench. The fifth-year man out of Tennessee scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, notching nine assists against just one turnover to go with three rebounds and three steals, and he nailed a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of the fourth quarter to send the Bulls' marquee Thursday night matchup with the Miami Heat into overtime. Once there, the Bulls bench bullied the Heat, outscoring Miami 12-2 in the extra frame and nailing down a 96-86 overtime win that clinched the Bulls' second straight Central Division title and gives Chicago (45-14) a four-game lead over Miami (40-17) for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. After resting his ailing ankle for a couple of days, Rose felt ready to give it a go and return to the starting lineup for the Thursday night showdown between the teams with the East's two best records. He looked rusty and rickety, though, going scoreless in the first half for the first time in his 304-game NBA career (playoffs included) and managing just two points on 1-of-13 shooting in 25-plus minutes of floor time. (He did chip in eight assists, three rebounds and a steal.) As he's done all season, though, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau looked down the bench, called on a reserve and expected him to do the job. Watson delivered, turning in stellar play to close the third quarter, in the first nine minutes of the fourth and running the show for the entirety of overtime. In fact, according to K.C. Johnson at the Chicago Tribune , Thibodeau said after the game that "if Watson had not needed a short, fourth-quarter break, Rose [...] would have sat for the final 18:45." While Watson's performance drew headlines, he wasn't the only member of the Bulls' so-called "Bench Mob" to come up huge. Taj Gibson scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and was a game-changer at the start of the overtime period. Omer Asik had just about the most dominant scoreless night you'll ever see, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking two shots and locking down the paint in just under 23 minutes of intimidating defensive work. Kyle Korver was locked in, hitting 5 of 6 3-pointers and scoring 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a 27-foot bomb with 1:01 left in added time that put the Bulls up 10 and sealed the win.

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Russell Westbrook had 32 points and eight assists, and Kevin Durant scored 25 points as the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder won their fourth straight with a 109-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. Reserve James Harden added 21 points for the Thunder, who built a 65-47 lead by halftime and led by as many as 20 points.

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PORTLAND, Ore. - Russell Westbrook had 32 points and eight assists, Kevin Durant scored 25 points and the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder won their fourth straight with a 109-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

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