SBNation.com - NBA Scores & More: LeBron James Makes MVP Case As Heat Beat Bulls, Rockets Lose Againhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png2012-04-20T10:00:51-04:00http://www.sbnation.com/rss/stream/27261402012-04-20T10:00:51-04:002012-04-20T10:00:51-04:00NBA Playoff Picture: Oh No, Rockets
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Houston Rockets</a> couldn't possibly lose a sixth straight game, this one to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/new-orleans-hornets">New Orleans Hornets</a> ... could they? <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2961646/houston-rockets-new-orleans-hornets-score-2012-nba-playoffs-standings/in/2726140">Oh yes they could</a>. Houston has slipped from the No. 6 seed to the No. 10 spot in the matter of a week and change, and there is no end to the slide in sight.</p>
<p>Houston's loss put the Rockets one game behind the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a> for the final playoff spot in the West, because <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2961940/la-clippers-phoenix-suns-score-nba-playoffs/in/2726140">Phoenix managed to beat the L.A. Clippers</a>. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.slcdunk.com/">Utah Jazz</a> are tied with the Suns in the standings, too, making Houston's path to the postseason even tougher.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a>' loss hurt their Pacific Division quest: L.A. now trails the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a> by one game plus a tiebreaker. The Clippers lead over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/">Memphis Grizzlies</a> for the No. 4 spot (and home court in the first round) is now 1.5 games.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewhoop.com/">Milwaukee Bucks</a> were pretty much toast <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2961220/milwaukee-bucks-indiana-pacers-score-nba-playoffs/in/2726140">before losing to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday</a>, but their defeat did clinch a berth for the idle <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">Knicks</a>. (Hurray!) Philadelphia is the last team in line to claim a spot in the East.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2962099/nba-scores-lebron-james-mvp-heat-bulls-rockets#bulls-vs-heat-miami-gets-defensive-beats-chicago">Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls</a>, and now trail in the race for the No. 1 seed by 1.5 games. The idle <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> got boosts in their own quests for No. 1 overall with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Bulls</a>' loss, too.</p>
<p>Scott Schroeder looks at the Friday games with playoff implications in Enormous Consequences at noon ET.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2962284/nba-playoff-picture-2012-houston-rocketsTom Ziller2012-04-20T08:04:02-04:002012-04-20T08:04:02-04:00Bulls Vs. Heat: Miami Gets Defensive, Beats Chicago
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<img alt="April 19, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) looks on during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uVDpQO-3sQD4y8L3kepIFZVTsf4=/18x0:981x642/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/6559769/20120419_jel_su8_383.jpg" />
<figcaption>April 19, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) looks on during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>LeBron James registered a typical MVP-type effort and Dwyane Wade came alive after committing a flagrant foul as the Heat stuffed Chicago offensively throughout the game and came away with an 82-73 win in Miami Thursday night.</p> <p>In a defensively dominating game that got as physical as the Eastern Conference Final game it may have previewed, <span>LeBron James</span> turned in a typically outstanding all-around game and his <a href="https://www.hothothoops.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Miami Heat</a> locked down the Derrick Rose-less <a href="https://www.blogabull.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago Bulls</a>, holding them to a season-low point total in an 83-72 win in Miami Thursday night.</p>
<p>James scored 27 points on 8-18 shooting with 10-12 free throws while pulling in 11 rebounds, six assists against a single turnover in 35 minutes on the court. LeBron got the Heat going early by registering 15 of his points in the first quarter.</p>
<p>Miami was playing without frontcourt starters <span>Chris Bosh</span> and Ronnie Turiaf, but apart from <span>Joakim Noah's</span> 5-5 shooting, the Bulls couldn't get it clicking against the Heat reserves. <span>Luol Deng</span>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2012_leaders.html">the league leader in minutes per game</a>, was 4-6 from the floor in the first quarter and then couldn't make anything after that, missing eight of his last nine shots.</p>
<p>Deng's struggles mirrored his team as a whole as the Bulls, who made 11 of 19 shots in the first quarter, made 14 if 51 shots after the opening quarter (27 percent). As the numbers show, it wasn't just Deng, it was a Chicago epidemic.</p>
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<li> <span>Carlos Boozer</span> went three for four in the first before making only one of seven the rest of the way. </li>
<li>Chicago guards, led by <span>John Lucas III</span> (team-high 16 points), shot a miserable 7-31 from the floor.</li>
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<p>Only Noah's efforts (15 points, 10 rebounds) and <span>Taj Gibson</span> off the bench (4-6, nine points, three rebounds, two steals) registered positive for the Bulls, but despite the overall ineffectiveness Chicago scratched and clawed its way and kept the game well within reach throughout.</p>
<p>Noah was on the receiving end of some extracurricular activity that played as an undercurrent during the game. <span>James Jones</span> decided he had enough of Noah and shoved him in the face in the lane with two hands. Jones' actions garnered a Flagrant-2 foul and an auto-ejection from the game in the second quarter.</p>
<p>In the third, <span>Dwyane Wade</span> and <span>Richard Hamilton</span> tussled, with Hamilton delivering an intentional elbow brushing of Wade's face while Hamilton had the ball on the wing and Wade responded by shoving Hamilton to the floor, earning Wade a Flagrant-1 and both players a technical foul.</p>
<p>Wade's activity, 2-7 for five points at the time of the skirmish, picked up after that, scoring 13 points and getting three steals the rest of the game. Hamilton, meanwhile, made the two free throws from the flagrant foul and two more later in the quarter, but would otherwise be non-existent offensive despite playing nearly 10 more game minutes after that.</p>
<p>Miami led by three points heading into the game's final quarter, which turned out to be a brutal, defensively dominating episode as both teams combined for 28 percent shooting (10-36).</p>
<p>Between the 9:06 and 1:31 marks of the fourth quarter, bookending a pair of Taj Gibson made jump shots, the Bulls managed only one field goal and seven points. Miami, meanwhile, used a 13-3 run during that period to finally stretch the lead out to double digits and take control of the game.</p>
<p>Your friendly BullsBlogger at Blog-A-Bull <a target="_blank" href="http://www.blogabull.com/2012/4/20/2961801/bulls-vs-heat-bulls-offense-stagnates-miami-wins-key-matchups-to-get">tips his cap to Miami's defense</a>, highlighting a particular area of excellence during the game:</p>
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<p>A similar matchup going differently than last week was the muzzling of <span>Kyle Korver</span>, who was 0-2 in 16 minutes of action. <span>Shane Battier</span> had only a single 3-pointer to his name himself, but he and the Heat did a fantastic job limiting Korver's actions off of screens. The Bulls favorite scripted options on offense involve Korver or Rip Hamilton in that fashion, but the difference with using it against the Heat instead of the clinic the Bulls were able to run against Charlotte the night before is apparent. Miami does a much better job closing space and rotating behind their perimeter defenders, to where the shots are more contested, and the dishes still leave defenders to beat.</p>
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<p><i>For more on Miami's point of view, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.peninsulaismightier.com/">go to Peninsula Is Mightier.</a></i></p>
<p><i>For all of Thursday's NBA box scores, check out <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/scoreboards/today/?xid=sbnation">SI.com's NBA scoreboard</a>.</i></p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2962026/chicago-bulls-miami-heat-scoreJason Walker2012-04-20T08:03:05-04:002012-04-20T08:03:05-04:00Clippers Vs. Suns: Phoenix Boosts Playoff Chances With Close Win Over L.A.
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<p>Steve Nash scores four points in the final two minutes to lead Phoenix to a crucial win over the Clippers and back into eighth place in the Western Conference.</p> <p>When the <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Phoenix Suns</a> lost to the <a href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> on Wednesday night, they dropped to ninth place in the Western Conference, a half game behind the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Utah Jazz</a>. With the Jazz facing significantly weaker opponents in the final week of the season, the Suns have their work cut out for them to avoid missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 80s. Thursday night's game against the <a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Los Angeles Clippers</a> became huge. Coach <span>Alvin Gentry</span> didn't want to call it a "must-win" -- maybe it was just victory-required."</p>
<p>In a rough and tumble contest, the Suns came away with the crucial 93-90 win, coming from behind late in the fourth quarter. <span>Steve Nash</span> didn't have his best game, finishing with 13 points and only six assists against six turnovers, but he scored six of his 13 points in the final quarter, including a layup to tie the game with 75 seconds remaining and what proved to be the game-winning free throws with 25 seconds left.</p>
<p><iframe allowtransparency="true" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:250px; height:258px; margin:5px 10px;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsbnationnba&width=250&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_faces=true&border_color&stream=false&header=false" align="right"></iframe> The NBA may regret this reality, but the momentum in the game swung towards the Suns when <span>Robin Lopez</span> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2962091/brook-lopez-flagrant-foul-blake-griffin-ejected-suns-clippers">committed a hard foul </a>on <span>Blake Griffin</span> as the Clipper star went in for a lay up. The officials reviewed the play and issued a Flagrant Foul 2 to Lopez, which carries a penalty of two free throws, the ball out of bounds, and ejection. But in the inevitable melee after Lopez came across Griffin's head and neck to send him to the floor, the officials also issued a technical foul to <span>Mo Williams</span> of the Clippers. Griffin, a 52 percent foul shooter, made just one of two, while <span>Sebastian Telfair</span>, a 77 percenter, made the technical free throw, and the net effect of Lopez' foul was a wash. Nor was Lopez's ejection a punishment as starter <span>Marcin Gortat</span> returned for the final six minutes.</p>
<p>The Clippers led by three at the time of the foul, and <span>Chris Paul</span> made a jumper on the subsequent possession to stretch the lead to five. But the Suns were suddenly energized on both ends of the floor and outscored the Clippers, 8-2, over the next two minutes to take a one point lead with 3:18 remaining. After the Clippers regained a three point lead, <span>Jared Dudley</span> knotted it again from behind the arc. There were three lead changes and two ties in the final two minutes, but the Suns scored their final five points from the line, and the Clippers missed a chance to take the lead when Telfair blocked Paul's layup attempt and then Williams' three pointer rimmed out.</p>
<p>Dudley's 18 led a balanced Suns attack that featured five players in double figures. <span>Channing Frye</span> had 16 and Gortat finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. For the Clippers, Paul finished with 19 points and 10 assists, but was just 6-19 from the field, one of his worst shooting performances of the season. <span>Caron Butler</span> scored 17, while Griffin had 16 -- with all but two free throws coming in the first quarter.</p>
<p>The win puts the Suns in a much better position in the playoff race, but their postseason slot is by no means assured. They do control their own destiny, as they own the season series tie breaker with both the Jazz and the tenth place <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Houston Rockets</a> and they still have a game remaining against the Jazz left. In all likelihood, Tuesday's meeting in Utah between the Jazz and the Suns will determine the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference.</p>
<p>With the loss, the Clippers drop a full game behind the <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Lakers</a> in the chase for third place in the Western Conference, and their lead over fifth place Memphis shrinks to a game in the loss column. The Lakers own the tie-breaker over the Clippers while the Clippers own the tie-breaker over the <a href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Grizzlies</a>, so increasingly it appears that the Clippers will finish in fourth, where they've been for a couple of weeks now. Rising to third is still possible, but became less likely with Thursday's loss, while falling to fifth is unlikely, but is still on the table because of the loss. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.playoffstatus.com/nba/clippersstandings.html">Playoffstatus.com</a> pegs the likelihood that the Clippers will finish fourth at 70 percent with a symmetrical 15 percent chance that they could climb to third of fall to fourth.</p>
<p><i>For more on the Suns, stare into the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Bright Side of the Sun</a>. To read up on the Clippers, visit scenic <a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/">Clips Nation</a>.</i></p>
<p><i>For all of Thursday's NBA box scores, check out <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/scoreboards/today/?xid=sbnation">SI.com's NBA scoreboard</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2961940/la-clippers-phoenix-suns-score-nba-playoffsSteve Perrin2012-04-20T08:01:46-04:002012-04-20T08:01:46-04:00Bucks Vs. Pacers: Indiana Wins Seventh Straight, Clinches Home Court Advantage
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<img alt="Apr 19, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Lou Amundson (17) tries to steal the ball away from Milwaukee Bucks forward Larry Sanders (8) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_c8HLFHMRg_cOKNIE-RTg3HXiUI=/0x0:1000x667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/6556439/20120419_kkt_ss1_814.jpg" />
<figcaption>Apr 19, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Lou Amundson (17) tries to steal the ball away from Milwaukee Bucks forward Larry Sanders (8) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>The Pacers outworked the Bucks in a chippy one, winning their seventh straight and guaranteeing themselves home court advantage in the first round of the postseason.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Indiana Pacers</a> have been rolling of late, and they entered Thursday night's game with the <a href="https://www.brewhoop.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Milwaukee Bucks</a> on the verge of clinching home court advantage in the first found of the playoffs. The Bucks, meanwhile, came in as the Eastern Conference's ninth seed, hoping merely to reach the postseason by overtaking the <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">76ers</a> and/or <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Knicks</a>. Their prospects dwindled, though, when Indiana's balanced scoring led them to a 118-109 win in a chippy, hostile game of basketball.</p>
<p>The game ended up being a pretty close, back-and-forth affair, but it didn't start that way. Indiana opened on a tear, pushing the pace to get <span>George Hill</span> finishes off the dribble and <span>Danny Granger</span> a couple of quick threes. The Bucks, led by <span>Brandon Jennings</span>, weren't playing poorly themselves, but Indiana just couldn't miss. They hit 10 of their first 13 shots and pulled ahead by as many as 12 points.</p>
<p>Once the starters took their early rest, though, the Pacers buckled considerably. Indiana's bench started forcing and missed 13 straight field goal attempts, allowing Milwaukee to go on a 15-0 run behind the scoring of Jennings and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Once Indiana's starters returned, things evened back out -- <span>David West's</span> inside presence was a big factor -- and the Pacers led by six at halftime.</p>
<p>The basketball from that point forward wasn't all that exciting. Indiana held a lead the rest of the way, getting useful contributions from each of its starters, all of whom scored in double figures. The real intrigue came from the rather bellicose relationship between the two teams. They've got <a href="http://www.indycornrows.com/2012/3/25/2901324/hansbrough-takes-exception-to-dunleavys-smashmouth-play" target="_blank">a bit of history</a>, and the physical play continued in Thursday night's game. First, Dunleavy and <span>Tyler Hansbrough</span> got into it a bit after <span>Leandro Barbosa's</span> flagrant foul on Dunleavy sent them sprawling onto the floor together. That paled in comparison, though, to <span>Larry Sanders's</span> fourth quarter flip-out:</p>
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<p>Milwaukee actually went on a bit of a run after that, but it wasn't enough to overcome Indiana.</p>
<p>The Pacers' win was their seventh straight and, though they can still fall as low as the fifth seed, guaranteed them home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks, in defeat, fell to 29-33 and lost any potential of overtaking seventh-seeded New York. Their only hope of making the playoffs now is to catch Philadelphia and get in as an eighth seed.</p>
<p><i>Visit <a href="http://www.indycornrows.com/" target="_blank">Indy Cornrows</a> for more on the Pacers and head over to <a href="http://www.brewhoop.com/" target="_blank">Brew Hoop</a> for more on the Bucks.</i></p>
<p><i>For all of Thursday's NBA box scores, check out <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/scoreboards/today/?xid=sbnation">SI.com's NBA scoreboard</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2961220/milwaukee-bucks-indiana-pacers-score-nba-playoffsSeth Rosenthal2012-04-20T08:00:46-04:002012-04-20T08:00:46-04:00Rockets Vs. Hornets: Sixth Straight Loss Hobbles Playoff Hopes For Houston
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<p>The Houston Rockets lost their sixth straight game on Thursday night as Eric Gordon and the New Orleans Hornets pulled off a 105-99 OT win.</p> <p>The 2012 NBA standings say the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Houston Rockets</a> are in play for the final spot in the Western Conference playoff bracket and that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/new-orleans-hornets">New Orleans Hornets</a> are the worst team in the West, but Thursday's head-to-head matchup said otherwise. Heck, the past two weeks have told a completely different story. The Hornets have nothing to play for except professional pride -- in fact, they could increase their odds for a premium pick in the 2012 NBA Draft with additional losses -- yet New Orleans picked up its seventh win in 10 tries with a thrilling 105-99 OT victory over Houston.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Rockets are ostensibly in the race for the eighth seed, but another defeat pushed their season-high losing streak to six games. Houston's odds of making the playoffs were down to just 14.7 percent <i>before </i>the letdown in New Orleans <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds" target="_blank">according to John Hollinger's Playoff Odds</a>, so be sure to keep your ears open for the somber serenade of the proverbial Fat Lady.</p>
<p>The Rockets pushed their own back against the wall with some frustrating second-half collapses during the past week, and in a must-win against Hornets that disturbing trend of back-loading bad basketball continued. In the first half, Houston used hot outside shooting (7-12 3PTs), good ball movement (17 AST) and wise decision making (4 TO) to jump out to an eight-point lead at intermission.</p>
<p><span>Marcus Camby</span> cashed in seven of his first eight shots (only two of which came in the painted area), while <span>Chase Budinger</span> bracketed an early 15-2 Rockets run with silky shots from long distance. <span>Marco Belinelli</span> (11) and <span>Eric Gordon</span> (12) combined to outscore their nine teammates (20) and kept the Hornets close enough heading into the second half.</p>
<p>The third quarter changed the complexion of the game. New Orleans outscored Houston 26-13 during that span, as the Rockets went cold from the field (6-20 FGs, 30.0 percent 2PT, 14.3% 3PT) while the Hornets chipped away at the lead and eventually built their own advantage. That turned the final period into a grinding mess. The Rockets shot 31.3 percent and the Hornets countered with a 33.3 percent effort from the field as only 13 of 40 total attempts found the bottom of the net. Houston only scored 12 points in the paint during the second half, but they fought for free throw attempts and made up the difference from the line.</p>
<p>Houston started to show its desperation at the end of regulation. First it aggressively trapped Eric Gordon in pick-and-roll, which opened up space for <span>Gustavo Ayon</span> to hit a big-time jumper from the right elbow that gave the Hornets an 87-86 lead with 41.4 seconds in regulation. Then Budinger missed a contested corner three and set off a volleyball sequence where Grieves Vasquez came down with the potentially clinching rebound, but <span>Courtney Lee</span> swooped in behind him and stole the ball during the chaos.</p>
<p>For reasons beyond comprehension, Belinelli fouled Lee in response to that play and put the Rockets SG on the line with a chance to take the lead. Lee tragically split the pair of freebies and Eric Gordon barely missed an isolation jumper at the buzzer, so the game moved into overtime.</p>
<p>In extra time, <span>Carl Landry</span> worked the baseline and paid off solid ball movement with swift finishes at the rim. Ayon fed him twice and then <span>Al-Farouq Aminu</span> fed him for a joyous dunk that gave New Orleans a 98-90 lead with 50 seconds on the clock. From there Houston executed the chase-and-foul offense and robbed the Rockets of any hope for a comeback. <span>Goran Dragic</span> put in eight of the team's 12 points in overtime, but his 3-4 shooting took a backseat to the 2-8 clunker by his teammates. Kevin McHale tried a timeout at one point, but even that couldn't pull the team out of a funk.</p>
<p>Dragic posted a respectable line of 23 points and eight assists in the loss, and Budinger added 22 points and six rebounds, but Eric Gordon (27 points, 9-18 FGs, 5-8 3PT, 8-10 FTs, five assists) and Carl Landry (20 points, 9-13 FGs, 10 rebounds) simply did more.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a> knocked off the LA <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> in the late game and pushed Houston one game back of the eighth seed (but really two, because the Suns own the tiebreak) with three games to play.</p>
<p><i>For more on the Hornets, be sure to check out </i><a href="http://www.atthehive.com/" target="_blank"><i>At The Hive</i></a><i>. Rockets news and analysis is available at </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/"><i>The Dream Shake</i></a><i>.</i></p>
<p><i>For all of Thursday's NBA box scores, check out <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/scoreboards/today/?xid=sbnation">SI.com's NBA scoreboard</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/4/20/2961646/houston-rockets-new-orleans-hornets-score-2012-nba-playoffs-standingsSteve von Horn