Butler scores 33, Bulls beat Hawks
Jimmy Butler scored 33 points and hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 106-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Butler scored the Bulls’ final nine points. His free throws gave the Bulls a two-point lead and capped a 15-4 run.
Tim Hardaway Jr. then missed a 3-pointer for Atlanta as time expired, giving the Bulls their third straight win. That put them in a tie with Miami and Indiana for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The sixthplace Hawks, who had won two straight after dropping seven in a row, trail Milwaukee by a game.
Rajon Rondo had a season-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds. Denzel Valentine scored 13 points as the Bulls stopped a seven-game losing streak to Atlanta.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 29 points while Hardaway scored 20.
Atlanta was leading 100-91 with less than five minutes to go when the Bulls went on their big run.
Valentine hit a pair of 3-pointers to start it, and Butler took over from there. He tied it at 102all when he connected from long range with 1:59 left.
CLIPPERS 115, LAKERS 104: Blake Griffin scored 36 points, Chris Paul added 29 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Lakers, giving coach Doc Rivers his 800th career victory. J.J. Redick added 19 points for the Clippers, who moved within a game of the idle Jazz for the No. 4 playoff seed in the West. The Clippers have won three in a row and seven of nine. The series between the Staples Center co-tenants has been dominated by the Clippers of late. They’ve won 18 of 20 since the start of the 2012-13 season. Rookie David Nwaba scored 19 points and Brandon Ingram had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Lakers.