Indianapolis: Tony Parker scored 22 points in the San Antonio Spurs’ club-record 18th straight victory, a 103-77 rout of the slumping Indiana Pacers on Monday.
Boris Diaw added 14 points for the Spurs, who bettered their previous longest winning streak, which was set from February 19 through March 31, 1996.
Paul George scored 16 points for the Pacers, who have lost six of seven and their once seemingly safe three-game lead over Miami for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
Elsewhere, LeBron James scored 32 points for Miami and Chris Bosh added 18 as the Heat moved into the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 93-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Chris Andersen scored 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting and Mario Chalmers added 12 for Miami, who were again without Dwyane Wade, Greg Oden and Ray Allen.
Miami (51-22, .699) moved percentage points ahead of Indiana (52-23, .693), who lost at home earlier on Monday to San Antonio. It is the first time all season that Miami have been alone at the top of the East.
Charlotte’s Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson each had a double-double as the Bobcats rallied from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Washington 100-94, preventing the Wizards from clinching their first play-off berth since 2008.
Walker finished with 21 points and 10 assists, and Jefferson had 19 points and 11 rebounds despite needing seven stitches in the first half to close a gash above his right eye.
But Walker scored nine points in the final quarter, helping the Bobcats pull within two games of Washington in the race for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference play-offs.
At Atlanta, Paul Millsap scored 28 points and Lou Williams added 22 off the bench, rallying the Hawks to a 103-95 victory that denied the Philadelphia 76ers their first winning streak in nearly three months.
The Hawks, clinging to the final play-off spot in the East, came into the night one game ahead of the New York Knicks.
The 76ers were coming off a victory over Detroit, ending an NBA record-tying streak of 26 consecutive losses. But they could not win two in a row for the first time since January 4.
The New York Knicks stayed one game off the final Eastern Conference play-off berth after Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points in a 92-83 win over the Utah Jazz.
Tyson Chandler added 15 points and nine rebounds, while J R Smith scored 13 points and Raymond Felton chipped in 12 points and six assists to help New York (32-43) finish 3-2 on their western trip.
Zach Randolph had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 19 points as the Memphis Grizzlies kept pace in the play-off race with a 94-92 win over the Denver Nuggets.
In other games, the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-104, the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 94-80, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 116-111 and the Sacramento Kings were 102-97 winners over the New Orleans Pelicans.
