NEW YORK — LeBron James had 26 points and 11 assists, Kevin Love scored 28 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers got their 50th win and another Central Division title by beating the New York Knicks 123-109 on Monday night.

The Cavaliers pulled within a half-game of Philadelphia for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference, bouncing back from their loss to the 76ers on Friday and winning for the sixth time in seven games.

They reached 50 wins for the fourth time in four seasons since James returned from Miami and the 11th time in franchise history.

J.R. Smith and Jordan Clarkson added 16 points apiece for the Cavaliers, who made 19 3-pointers and won for the ninth straight time at Madison Square Garden.

Michael Beasley scored 20 points for the Knicks in their final home game of the season, which opened a home-and-home series.

THUNDER 115, HEAT 93: Paul George scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook got his 25th triple-double of the season and Oklahoma City clinched a playoff spot with a win in Miami.

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Westbrook finished with 23 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for the Thunder, who were down 18 in the opening minutes before outscoring the Heat 39-12 in the fourth.

RAPTORS 108, PISTONS 98: Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points, and Toronto scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter before holding on for a victory in Detroit.

Detroit was without injured stars Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin for its home finale, but the Pistons still led by 17 in the first half. The margin was only three, however, at halftime, and Detroit managed only 38 points over the final two quarters.

NETS: 114, BULLS 105: Allen Crabbe scored 20 of his career-high 41 points in the first quarter and Brooklyn beat Chicago in New York for its first three-game winning streak this season.

D’Angelo Russell had 21 points and 11 assists, and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points for the Nets, who had not won three straight since April 1-4, 2017.

Former Net Sean Kilpatrick was one of seven players for the Bulls to score in double figures, tallying 16 points. Cameron Payne had 15 for Chicago, which has lost its last three games.

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BUCKS 102, MAGIC 86: Shabazz Muhammad scored a season-high 22 points and helped spark a key third-quarter run, Eric Bledsoe had a triple-double and Milwaukee beat Orlando in the final regular-season game at the Bradley Center.

The Bucks leapfrogged Miami for sixth in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat lost to Oklahoma City on Monday.

TIMBERWOLVES 113, GRIZZLIES 93: Karl-Anthony Towns slammed his way to 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Minnesota, which toughed out a victory over Memphis in Minneapolis to move one step closer to a long-sought spot in the playoffs.

Jeff Teague added 24 points and Jimmy Butler scored 15 points for the Timberwolves, who trailed by 10 points early before taking over against a depleted Grizzlies team that beat them 101-93 exactly two weeks ago in one of their worst losses of the season.

Towns had five dunks to help ignite the crowd.


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