AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Hassan Whiteside tipped in a shot with his left hand as time expired to lift Miami over Detroit.
Whiteside, playing with a thick bandage on his right hand to protect 13 stitches he got a week ago, tipped in Goran Dragic’s miss after a wild final play over the game’s final 11.3 seconds. James Johnson took the initial shot for Miami, Dragic muscled the rebound off the rim and Whiteside elevated over Andre Drummond for the winning tip.
The win was huge for Miami (36-38), which moved one game ahead of No. 9 Chicago and 2 1/2 games ahead of No. 10 Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

WIZARDS 118,
 LAKERS 108
LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Wall scored 34 points and Washington rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Los Angeles, clinching the Southeast Division title for its first division crown in 38 years.
Wall shot 14 of 25 and Bradley Beal was held to 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but the Wizards ended the longest division-title drought in NBA history with their fourth straight victory.
“I didn’t know that,” coach Scott Brooks said before the game. “Now we’re fighting for playoff positioning.”

TRAIL BLAZERS 122, NUGGETS 113
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jusuf Nurkic had a career-high 33 points with 16 rebounds against his former team, CJ McCollum had 39 points and Portland beat Denver to take hold of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Portland leads Denver by a game for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Blazers also clinched the season-series tiebreaker with the Nuggets, giving them an upper hand with eight games to play.

HAWKS 95, SUNS 91
ATLANTA (AP) — Dennis Schroder hit consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 17-1 run for a victory that snapped Atlanta’s a seven-game losing streak and boosting its playoff hopes.
The Suns lost their ninth in a row in a matchup of teams with the two longest active losing streaks in the NBA.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, PACERS 114
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ricky Rubio made three free throws with 3.4 seconds left to give Minnesota a victory over Indiana.
Minnesota snapped a season-high six-game losing streak by taking its only lead of the quarter. Rubio had 21 points and 10 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 37 points and 12 rebounds.
Rubio was fouled by Jeff Teague, though it appeared Rubio ran into his own teammate on the play. Indiana fans booed the officials as they left the court.

BUCKS 118,
 HORNETS 108
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tony Snell scored a season-high 26 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points and eight rebounds and Milwaukee handed Charlotte’s playoff hopes a potentially devastating blow.
Malcolm Brogdon had 14 points and 10 assists for his second double-double of the season, and the Bucks won for the 12th time in 15 games.
Snell finished 10 of 14 from the field and had four 3-pointers.
Charlotte (33-41) entered in 11th place in the Eastern Conference but only two games behind the Miami Heat and in dire need of a win with only nine games remaining.
76ERS 106, NETS 101
NEW YORK (AP) — Dario Saric scored 23 points, Robert Covington had 21 points and 13 rebounds and undermanned Philadelphia beat Brooklyn.
Rookie guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had 17 points and nine boards for the 76ers, who dressed only nine players.