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ORLANDO, Fla. — Aron Baynes had 18 points, Manu Ginobili added 13 and the San Antonio Spurs clinched a playoff berth with a 103-91 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
San Antonio posted its fifth straight victory. The Spurs are 15-3 since Feb. 27, and have now made the postseason in 18 consecutive seasons.
San Antonio trailed early, but connected on 13 of its 29 attempts from the 3-point line as it built as much as a 25-point lead. It was the Spurs’ eighth straight win over Orlando.
Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 24 points, while Nik Vucevic added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Orlando has lost four straight, and 10 out of its last 11.
Playing in the second game of a back-to-back, the Spurs were able to rest forward Tim Duncan. He started, but played just 12 minutes, scoring six points.
But his teammates didn’t need him to do much.
The Magic briefly had a three-point lead late in the first quarter before the Spurs used a 20-2 run to take a 36-21 second-quarter advantage.
San Antonio was 8 of 15 from the field during the spurt, connecting on four 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Magic had just one of their 11 shots fall over the same stretch, committing four turnovers.
For the half, Orlando turned it over eight times, leading to 12 Spurs points.
Hornets 102, Pistons 78
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Marvin Williams scored 18 points and the Charlotte Hornets cruised to a win over the Detroit Pistons.
Kemba Walker had 17 points and Gerald Henderson added 14 as the Hornets won for only the third time in 10 games to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Charlotte entered the night two games behind eighth-place Brooklyn.
Before the game, Hornets center Al Jefferson had his knee drained for the third time in eight days. He finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, sitting out the fourth quarter because of the big lead.
Jodie Meeks led Detroit with 15 points. Andre Drummond was in early foul trouble and finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Pistons, who had won five of six, shot 35.2 percent from the field and were 5 of 22 from 3-point range.
The Hornets opened the game playing with plenty of emotion and energy, something they lacked in a 12-point loss to Boston on Monday night.
Walker had 12 points in the first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting as the Hornets built a double-digit lead.
Wizards 106, 76ers 93
WASHINGTON — Marcin Gortat scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Bradley Beal added 20 points, and the Washington Wizards defeated the Philadelphia 76ers.
John Wall chipped in 13 points and 15 assists for Washington, which had lost five of six.
The Wizards (42-33), who clinched a playoff spot Monday, began play three games behind the Raptors for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Ish Smith tied his season high with 23 points and Isaiah Canaan added 18 for the 76ers (18-58), who have lost four straight overall and 18 of 19 on the road.
Washington dominated in their first of back-to-back games against the 76ers and Knicks – the bottom two teams in the conference – jumping out to a 13-4 lead and building from there.
Otto Porter started in place of Paul Pierce (rest) for Washington and finished with 15 points.
Nets 100, Knicks 98
NEW YORK — Brook Lopez’s follow shot with 2 seconds left gave the Brooklyn Nets their fifth straight victory and a share of seventh place in the Eastern Conference, as they beat the New York Knicks 100-98 on Wednesday night.
The Nets blew a 16-point, second-half lead but escaped what could have been a crushing loss thanks to Lopez’s effort on the boards on their last possession.
Deron Williams had 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in one of his best games of the season. And when he missed in the lane with the game tied at 98, Lopez tipped the ball once, then knocked it in on his second attempt.
Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points for the Knicks, who lost their eighth straight.