BASKETTBALL

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Tyler Herro scored 38 points as the Miami Heat cruised past the Chicago Bulls 109-90 to keep their NBA playoff hopes alive on Wednesday. Miami point guard Herro led from the front in a wire-to-wire victory that eliminated Chicago from postseason contention and sends the Heat into a winner-take-all clash against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

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Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has made "significant improvement" in his recovery from a blood clot as the team prepares for the opening rounds of the NBA playoffs, team officials said on Tuesday.

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Cole Anthony (24) scored 26 points off the bench as the Orlando Magic booked their place in the first round of the NBA playoffs with a 120-95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. In the opening game of the Eastern Conference's play-in tournament, Orlando's superior production from the bench proved decisive as the Magic clinched the seventh seed.

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The Denver Nuggets strengthened their playoff position with a triple-double from history-making Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The Serb put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds, and his 34th triple-double performance ensured he will finish the regular season as just the third player averaging a triple-double across an entire season.

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Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler combined for 75 points as the Golden State Warriors squeezed into the NBA playoffs on Tuesday with a pulsating 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. A thrilling play-in duel at San Francisco's Chase Centre saw the Warriors hang on after a ferocious second-half fightback by Memphis, who trailed by as much as 20 points before rallying back to edge into the lead late in the game.

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Luka Doncic shrugged off the raw emotion of his return to Dallas with a dazzling 45-point display against his former club as the Los Angeles Lakers downed the Mavericks 112-97 to punch their ticket to the NBA playoffs on Wednesday.

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James Harden scored 39 points as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors 124-119 in overtime to clinch the final playoff spot in a thrilling last day of the NBA regular season on Sunday. Harden's superb display in San Francisco helped the Clippers bag the fifth seed in the Western Conference and sets up a first-round postseason series with the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 136-120 on Tuesday in a hard-fought battle that saw Luka Doncic controversially ejected in the fourth quarter. Two days after suffering a 27-point defeat to the Lakers, the No.1-ranked Thunder avenged that loss thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander's 13th 40-point game of the season, with Jalen Williams adding 26 and Lugentz Dort 17.