Will Barton scored 31 points and Nikola Jokic added 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets rolled past the Los Angeles Clippers 134-115 on Saturday afternoon at Staples Center in Los Angeles and remained in the hunt for the postseason.
The win was the fifth straight for the Nuggets, who are still out of the playoff picture but tied, record-wise, with eighth-place Minnesota. The Timberwolves hold the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams, but there is still plenty to be decided between now and April 11, the final day of the NBA's regular season.
The Clippers were eliminated from playoff consideration with Saturday's loss. Los Angeles (42-38) has lost four of its past five games.
Denver (45-35) outscored the Clippers in every quarter and put the game away with a final decisive run in the first half of the fourth period that garnered the Nuggets a 119-101 lead.
Thunder 108, Rockets 102
Russell Westbrook recorded 24 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals to help Oklahoma City post a crucial victory over Houston, snapping the Rockets' 20-game home winning streak.
Paul George also scored 24 points and Carmelo Anthony added 22 for the Thunder, who won for just the second time in the past six games. Steven Adams contributed 12 points and eight rebounds and Jerami Grant also scored 12 points for Oklahoma City.
The victory leaves the Thunder (46-34) tied with the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, who both won Saturday, for fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race. Oklahoma City needs to win one of its final two games to clinch a playoff berth.
Pelicans 126, Warriors 120
Rajon Rondo stripped the ball from Kevin Durant and E'Twaun Moore converted the steal into a short jumper at the other end with 23.5 seconds remaining, allowing New Orleans to hold on for a key victory over host Golden State.
Down 121-113 after an Anthony Davis basket with 3:22 left, Golden State scratched back within two on hoops by Durant, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, the latter a dunk with 1:01 to play.
But with a chance to tie, Durant (41 points, 10 rebounds) had the ball knocked away by the much smaller Rondo with 31.3 seconds left, and Moore followed with his key hoop almost eight seconds later.
Spurs 116, Trail Blazers 105
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and Manu Ginobili came off the bench for 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter in San Antonio's win over visiting Portland.
Ginobili was 7-for-7 from the field -- 3-for-3 from 3-point range -- in helping the Spurs claim their 10th straight win at home.
Damian Lillard scored 33 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third straight game. Evan Turner added 18 points and CJ McCollum 17 for Portland.
Bucks 115, Knicks 102
Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton each had 22 points to lead all five starters in double figures as Milwaukee defeated host New York.
Jarrett Jack had a team-high 18 points off the bench to lead the Knicks, who dropped their fifth game in their last six contests.
New York (28-52) failed to score for a four-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter as the Bucks broke open the game, securing the first double-digit lead for either team. Milwaukee trailed 95-94 with 5:51 left in the game, but the Bucks used a 12-0 run to go up 11 before cruising to the win.
Nets 124, Bulls 96
Unloading a non-stop barrage of 3-pointers, Brooklyn routed host Chicago.
The Nets sank 24 of 55 attempts from behind the arc, with eight players hitting at least one 3-pointer and six making multiple threes. Leading a balanced attack was reserve Quincy Acy with a game-high 21 points, all but three of them on 3-pointers. Allen Crabbe added 20 while Joe Harris chipped in 16 points.
In contrast to Brooklyn's assault from the perimeter, Chicago made just 6 of 29 3-point tries.