NBA round-up Tuesday 30th March

Steve Nash (L) scored 22 points for the Phoneix Suns in Chicago

Suns 111, Bulls 105
Jason Richardson scored 27 points and Channing Frye shot a crucial three-pointer with 41.6 seconds left on Tuesday night and the Phoenix Suns clinched a playoff berth by beating the Chicago Bulls 111-105 for their eighth consecutive win. Steve Nash scored seven of his 22 points in the final two minutes and had ten assists. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points for the Suns, 13 in the first quarter. Flip Murray and Derrick Rose, who kept Chicago in contention with ten points in the final period, scored 23 points each. The Bulls are 1 1/2 games behind Toronto for the eighth playoff spot in East.

Thunder 111, 76ers 93
Kevin Durant shot for 26 points and claimed ten rebounds, Jeff Green added 16 points as Oklahoma City comfortably beat Philadelphia. Nenad Krstic added 14 points and Russell Westbrook had ten points and 14 assists for the Thunder (45-28). James Harden also had 12 points and Serge Ibaka ten for Oklahoma City, which is nearing its first playoff appearance since 2004-05 as the Seattle SuperSonics. Elton Brand scored 22 points, Andre Iguodala added 21 and Jrue Holiday had 11 for the Sixers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Bucks 107, Clippers 89
Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 17 points and went the extra distance to protect Bucks big man Andrew Bogut, leading Milwaukee past Los Angeles. Bogut scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his second straight game since missing one with a sore back, and Jennings, who added six assists and five rebounds, came to the 7-footer's aid late in the third quarter when tensions rose after a spat of rough play. These Bucks won't be pushed around by anyone, turning into just the type of scrappy, hard-scrabble group that coach Scott Skiles envisioned when he took over in 2008. The Bucks are no longer losers, either. With the victory to finish the five-game homestand, Milwaukee (41-32) will complete the season .500 or better for the first time in six years.

Pacers 102, Kings 95
Danny Granger scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half, leading Indiana over Sacramento for its eighth straight home win. Troy Murphy added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Roy Hibbert and Earl Watson each scored 10 for the Pacers, who have won six of seven to improve to 28-47. They had their five-game winning streak snapped at Atlanta on Sunday. Jason Thompson and Beno Udrih each had 18 points, and Carl Landry finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento (24-51), which has lost five straight. Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans, who missed the previous five games due to a concussion, had 17 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals.

Rockets 98, Wizards 94
Rookie Chase Budinger hit a go-ahead jump shot with 28 seconds remaining and made two free throws and Houston escaped with a win over Washington. The win breaks a four-game skid for the Rockets and extends Washington's team-record losing streak to 16 games. In this matchup of banged-up and undermanned squads, it seemed for most of the game that neither team would pull away. The Rockets finally did, thanks to Budinger's career-high 24-points, to win their first game since Kevin Martin has been out of the lineup with a sore shoulder. Budinger's jumper made it 94-92 and he added the free throws after a missed 3-point attempt by Earl Boykins. Mike Miller cut the lead to two points with a tip-in with five seconds left, but Kyle Lowry made two free throws to secure the win.

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