The San Antonio Spurs' strong end to the NBA season continued as they toppled the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks in one of 11 games on Sunday.
San Antonio held the Hawks to their lowest-scoring quarter of the season by restricting them to just 13 points in the opening period before running out 19-point winners, with Tiago Splitter notching a season-high 23 points.
The New Orleans Pelicans' hopes of sneaking into the Western Conference playoffs took a hit as they fell away in the second half to lose by seven points at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Blake Griffin and Chris Paul both had 23 for the home side as they won their fourth in a row, while Anthony Davis again starred with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in defeat for New Orleans, who are now three games outside the playoffs.
The Milwaukee Bucks are in danger of dropping out of the East's playoff places as they fell to their sixth loss in a row against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jason Kidd's side are now just three-and-a-half games clear of the chasing pack after squandering an 11-point third-quarter lead, with LeBron James (28 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) powering the Cavs to their third straight win.
Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder strengthened their place in the West's playoffs by cruising to victory at home against the Miami Heat.
Point-guard Westbrook had his 10th triple-double of the season and second in a row with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists as OKC won their third match on the bounce.
The Phoenix Suns overtook the Pelicans to move behind OKC in the race for the West's final playoff spot by downing the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas led by six points with five minutes to play but fell away in the closing stages to drop behind San Antonio in the standings.
The Boston Celtics fell out of the East's playoff places by suffering their third defeat in a row at the hands of the Detroit Pistons in overtime.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope top-scored with 27 for the Pistons as they won their third game in four after a 10-game losing streak.
With Boston losing, the Charlotte Hornets climbed back into the East's top eight by overcoming the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.
Charlotte recorded victory for the first time in four matches as Mo Williams led all scorers with 24 on his return to Minnesota.
The Toronto Raptors moved up to third in the East by handing the rock-bottom New York Knicks their third straight loss.
With Kyle Lowry not involved, DeMar DeRozan stood out for the Raptors with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Rudy Gay led the Sacramento Kings to a big 24-point win over the Washington Wizards for their second victory in a row.
The small-forward had 26 points as Washington lost back-to-back games following a five-game winning streak.
At Amway Center, Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 40 points to help the Denver Nuggets to a convincing win over the Orlando Magic.
The visitors blew away Orlando with a 41-point second quarter as Gallinari finished with six made three-pointers for the Nuggets, who ended a three-game losing streak.
In the day's final game, the two sides second-bottom in either conference met and it was the Los Angeles Lakers who recorded their first victory in five against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers led by one going into the fourth quarter, but were then held to just 12 points in the final frame as they lost by 14 points. Jeremy Lin stood out for the Lakers with a season-high 29 points off the bench.
Results in full: Cleveland Cavaliers 108-90 Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat 75-93 Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs 114-95 Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans 100-107 Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks 89-106 Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards 86-109 Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons 105-97 Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets 119-100 Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets 109-98 Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks 92-98 Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers 87-101 Los Angeles Lakers
