Heat hold off Hawks to clinch No. 2 seed

ATLANTA (AP):

THE MIAMI Heat seemed to be coming unglued. Playing against a bunch of backups, Zydrunas Ilgauskas was ejected for slamming the ball off a friend's back and the Big Three were on the verge of blowing a 20-point lead in a game they needed to lock up a better play-off spot.

Thanks to a pair of three-pointers by James Jones, Miami were able to hold on Monday night.

LeBron James scored 34 points and the Heat wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 98-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks, who nearly rallied from that big deficit while going with little-used bench players against three of the NBA's best.

"We found a way to grind it out and win the game and that's what's most important," coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Miami played their starters all the way, looking to clinch the second spot behind Chicago in the East. Shortly after beating the Hawks, the Heat got the news they wanted: third-place Boston lost at Washington in overtime.

"Staying the course," James said. "That's all Spo talked about. Staying the course, staying the course and we'll get through everything."

He thought back to late November, when the Heat were struggling along at 9-8. Or just over a month ago, when they lost five in a row. Now, at least, they're the second seed in the East, heading to the play-offs with 14 wins in their last 17 games.

"It took us 81 games to get to this point," James said, "but there's a lot more work to do."

The Hawks, who are locked into the fifth seed, rested their starters in the fourth quarter and almost pulled off the win.

The game turned ugly with 3¹/² minutes to go. Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia powered inside for a basket. Ilgauskas took exception to the move and some previous rough play, prompting him to slam the ball off Pachulia's back as he turned to head back down the court.

"I didn't know if it was the ball or a punch," Pachulia said. "I don't know what he was mad about."

The two are actually close friends.

"He's one of the greatest guys," Pachulia said. "I'm definitely going to call him. Or," he said, breaking into a big smile, "maybe I'll just text him. He probably won't answer my call right now."

Ilgauskas was ejected, and the Hawks hit the technical free throw to tie it at 88. But Miami outscored the Hawks 10-2 the rest of the way, with Jones making those two three-pointers to break down Atlanta's zone - including one that turned into a four-play when he was fouled by a leaping Josh Powell, sending both players flying out of bounds.

Cavaliers 110, Pistons 101

Daniel Gibson scored 17 points, including a five-point play late in the third quarter, and the Cavaliers won a testy game in which Ryan Hollins and the Pistons' Charlie Villanueva were ejected after a skirmish.

The two players became entangled with 5:47 left in the game, and appeared to push each other in the face. Both were ejected and Villanueva had to be restrained as he headed off. Later, Villanueva came out of the Pistons' locker room and sprinted toward Cleveland's locker room, but was stopped by police on a loading dock.

Magic 95, 76ers 85

Dwight Howard returned from a suspension to score 19 points and grab 13 rebounds, and Ryan Anderson added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic.

Elton Brand led the Sixers with 22 points. Philadelphia are stuck on 41 wins and need one in today's finale for their first winning record since 2004-05.

Jazz 90, Hornets 78

C.J. Miles and Devin Harris each scored 18 points, Paul Millsap added 16 and the Jazz won for only the second time in 12 games.

The Hornets (46-35), who are already playoff-bound, now hold the eighth seed in the Western Conference, a half game behind Memphis (46-34) and 1 1/2 games behind Portland (46-33).