Hornets Get Into Playoffs

The low post paid off for the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, as they earned a postseason berth.

Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman each scored 19 points in the Hornets’ 96-80 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers.

“We’re happy to clinch a playoff berth,” Charlotte Coach Paul Silas said. “That was the biggest thing. Now we can concentrate on continuing to play well and trying to get home-court advantage.”

Anthony Mason added 18 points for the Hornets. Campbell had 13 rebounds and Mason had 10.

“With the big lineup that Indiana has, they play a lot of one-on-one,” Coleman said. “Other teams are always doubling down on us in the post and forcing us to swing it around. I was happy that they did try to play us one-on-one, because we see so may double-teams throughout the year.”

Indiana reduced a 19-point Charlotte lead to 79-72 with 10:01 left before the Hornets clinched the victory with a 9-2 run. Jalen Rose scored 18 points for the Pacers, whose four-game winning streak ended.

“When we play Charlotte, we have to match what they bring to the table, and that’s a big, aggressive front line,” Rose said. “You’ve got to be able to rebound and create opportunities on the floor and get fast breaks. We weren’t able to get it done today.”

Orlando 92, Philadelphia 80--The Magic continued their push for a playoff berth at Orlando, containing Allen Iverson and easily winning for the eighth time in nine games.

Orlando moved two games ahead of Milwaukee in the race for the eighth playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The Magic plays at Milwaukee tonight.

Iverson was limited to six points in the first half when Philadelphia shot 25% (11 for 44). He finished with 18 points, making only seven of 22 shots.

Miami 95, New York 94--Tim Hardaway stood 25 feet from the basket with the ball on his hip, Chris Childs guarding him and one second left on the clock at Miami. So he put up a desperation shot, then watched as the ball bounced on the rim and fell through the hoop.

“I was like, ‘Oh. It went in. Let’s go home,’ ” he said.

Thanks to that desperation three-point basket as time expired in overtime, the Heat closed in on their fourth consecutive Atlantic Division title.

Miami took a three-game lead over the Knicks in the standings with six games left and have the tiebreaker edge thanks to winning the season series, 3-1.

San Antonio 107, Vancouver 99--Tim Duncan had 31 points and 11 rebounds and Terry Porter added 22 points as the Spurs picked up their second road win in two nights.

Duncan scored 11 third-quarter points as San Antonio, which beat the Lakers on Saturday, broke open a close game by outscoring the Grizzlies, 30-16, in the quarter to lead, 87-71.

San Antonio (49-28) moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place Utah in the Midwest Division.

Phoenix 102, Sacramento 97--Penny Hardaway has had no problem taking on the role of offensive orchestrator for the Suns. He was in control again, getting 25 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to lead them at Sacramento.

The win kept Phoenix, which completed a 4-0 season sweep of the Kings, a half-game ahead of San Antonio for the fourth position in the Western Conference. The fourth-seeded team will have home-court advantage against No. 5 in the first round of the playoffs.

Houston 99, Utah 90--The Rockets broke a four-year losing streak to the Jazz by winning at Houston.

The Jazz had won the last 12 regular-season games dating back to Nov. 9, 1996 and eight in a row overall. It was the third straight win for the Rockets and sixth in their last eight games.

Golden State 117, Denver 103--Larry Hughes had a career-high 44 points and the Warriors scored a season-high 41 in the first quarter as they ended an 11-game losing streak and a season-high nine-game streak at home.

Golden State had only nine players in uniform, with Donyell Marshall (left knee tendinitis), Billy Owens (right knee inflammation) and Erick Dampier (right wrist sprain) sidelined because of injuries.