Knicks guard Derrick Rose takes a shot while being defended by Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. during New York’s 106-100 win on Sunday in Los Angeles. Jose Marcio Sanchez/Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Derrick Rose scored 25 points off the bench, Reggie Bullock added 24 and the New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-100 on Sunday to snap an eight-game skid at Staples Center.
Bullock made five 3-pointers against his former team and RJ Barrett had four on his way to 18 points. The Clippers are the NBA’s best 3-point shooting squad, but they were just 12 of 35.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 29 points. Paul George added 18 and Nicolas Batum had 13 as the playoff-bound team’s two-game winning streak ended in its home finale of the regular season.
The Knicks led by 10 early in the fourth, when they made three 3-pointers, and the Clippers dissolved in miscues and misses.
Leonard returned to the game with 5 1/2 minutes left, scoring five in a row to pull the Clippers to 96-90. He and George combined to score all of the Clippers’ final 15 points. Leonard’s 3-pointer cut the Knicks’ lead to 104-100, but Taj Gibson made a pair of free throws to seal it.
Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who had plenty of supporters cheering despite the limited attendance.
PELICANS 112, HORNETS 110: Eric Bledsoe had 24 points and 11 assists, Jaxson Hayes added 18 points and short-handed New Orleans stayed alive in the race for the play-in tournament with a come-from-behind victory at Charlotte.
James Johnson added 17 points and Willy Hernangomez had 16 rebounds for the Pelicans, who pulled within 1 1/2 games of the San Antonio Spurs for the 10th spot in the Western Conference.
Terry Rozier scored a career-high 43 points on 16-of-26 shooting, including seven 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as Charlotte failed to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
The Pelicans won despite playing without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Steven Adams due to injuries. The Hornets were without Devonte Graham, Miles Bridges and Gordon Hayward.
MAVERICKS 124, CAVALIERS 97: Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points and Josh Richardson had 20, allowing playoff-bound Dallas to overcome the ejection of Luka Doncic in a victory at Cleveland.
Doncic received a flagrant-two foul – an automatic ejection – early in the third quarter for hitting Collin Sexton with “an aggressive strike to the groin area,” according to lead official David Guthrie. It occurred while jostling for position under the Cleveland basket.
Dallas extended its lead to a game over Portland in the battle for fifth place in the Western Conference.
TIMBERWOLVES 128, MAGIC 96: Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell each scored 27 points and Minnesota built a 30-point halftime lead, led by 43 in the third quarter and cruised to a rout at Orlando.
BULLS 108, PISTONS 94: Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 16 rebounds and Chicago kept its play-in chances alive with a victory at Detroit.
Zach LaVine scored 30 points as the Bulls (29-39) moved within 2 1/2 games of the Indiana Pacers (31-36) for the last Eastern Conference play-in spot.
NOTES
PELICANS: The NBA fined David Griffin of New Orleans $50,000 for publicly criticizing officiating and making comments the league considered detrimental.
The decision came two days after Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke out strongly about his concerns over the amount of contact NBA referees allow New Orleans forward Zion Williamson to endure.
Williamson is currently out indefinitely with a broken left index finger. Griffin said the Pelicans have told league officials many times that they feared Williamson was being exposed to injury because of the way defenders are allowed to play against the 6-foot-7, 284-pound standout.
“He’s injured now because of the open season there’s been on Zion Williamson in the paint,” Griffin said Friday. “He’s been absolutely mauled in the paint on a regular basis.”
Williamson is averaging 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. The Pelicans began Sunday two games behind San Antonio for 10th place and the final play-in tournament berth in the Western Conference.
WIZARDS: Bradley Beal will miss Washington’s game Monday night at Atlanta because of a strained left hamstring.
The Wizards listed Beal as out on their injury report Sunday, a day after he scored 50 points in a 133-132 overtime victory in Indiana. He’s averaging 31.4 points — 0.5 behind Golden State’s Stephen Curry for the NBA lead.
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