Erik Spoelstra singled out Bam Adebayo for an "inspiring" performance after the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls to clinch the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Heat went all the way to the NBA Finals last season, ultimately losing to the Denver Nuggets, after securing the No.8 seed.

And they will be seeded eighth once again for their playoff campaign, which they will kick-off against the Boston Celtics, who the Heat defeated in the Conference finals last season.

Jimmy Butler could not feature against the Bulls on Friday due to injury, but Adebayo stepped up with 13 points while also marking Bulls star DeMar De Rozan.

"What we needed, what we felt like, was inspiration," Spoelstra told ESPN.

"And Bam was our most inspiring player, especially with Jimmy being out. The two of them are our most inspiring players. And they've always been.

"When they're locked in at their highest level competitively, we feel like we can beat anybody. With Jimmy out, I had to.

"We felt like DeRozan is a guy who can totally take over a game in a one-game deal. If our most inspiring player has to make an impact, it would be against their best scorer."

Butler is unlikely to feature at all against the Celtics, either, though Spoelstra has not yet paid mind to how he will look to keep the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown under wraps.

"I haven't even thought about that," Spoelstra said.

"This was for this kind of deal, to set the tone for the game, to help alleviate any stress or pressure from anyone else in the locker room, Bam had to be that, which he was."

Looking ahead to the Celtics series, Adebayo said: "It's going to be a dogfight. It's going to be a battle. It's going to be in the mud.

"It's not going to be pretty basketball. That's usually how it is when we play that team."

Tyler Herro fell an assist shy of a triple-double and scored 24 points as the Miami Heat rolled to a 112-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday to secure the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Jaime Jaques Jr. added 21 points, Kevin Love had 16 and Bam Adebayo 13 for Miami, which advanced to face the league-leading Boston Celtics in a rematch of the last two East finals.

They were the No. 8 seed last season also and survived the play-in before going all the way to the NBA Finals.

The Heat were without star forward Jimmy Butler and won’t have him available for the Boston series, either.

Even without Butler, Miami took control with a 19-0 run in the first quarter, and a 14-0 surge midway through the second half. Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat eliminated the Bulls in the last East play-in game for the second straight season.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16, 14 boards and five assists but the Bulls were unable to become the fifth team in the last 35 years to make the playoffs after not spending a single day all season over the .500 mark.

The Heat were held to 13 points in the second quarter but still took a 47-37 lead into the break because the Bulls went 8 for 39 from the field after opening 4 for 5. Chicago missed 14 of 15 shots in one stretch.

Chicago got as close as 70-60 in the third quarter before Miami essentially iced the game with the 14-0 run.

Pelicans continue mastery of Kings

Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 19 with 12 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans secured the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Trey Murphy III had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists as six players scored in double figures for the Pelicans, who won all six meetings this season against the Kings and now move on to face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs.

The Pelicans are the first team to 6-0 in a season (without a playoff series) against an opponent since Denver against Minnesota in 1994-95.

New Orleans played without leading scorer Zion Williamson (left hamstring), who will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

De’Aaron Fox poured in 35 points and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists but the Kings shot just 40.9 percent (36 of 88) from the field and misfired on 30 of 41 (26.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Sacramento got just 12 points from its bench compared to 34 for New Orleans.

Dejounte Murray declared "the sky's the limit" for Coby White after his career-best performance guided the Chicago Bulls past the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday.

The Bulls clinched a 131-116 win over Atlanta at a sold-out United Center in their first Play-In game, teeing up a rematch with the Miami Heat – who eliminated them from last year's Play-In Tournament – for Friday.

White had a career-high 42 points, the second-best tally ever recorded in a Play-In contest, after Jayson Tatum's 50 against the Washington Wizards in 2021, and went 15-of-21 from the field.

His stunning performance meant Murray's own 30-point showing counted for nothing, with Atlanta always fighting an uphill battle after going 18 points down in the first quarter.

Asked about White after the game, Murray said: "I root for guys that work hard and are great people.

"[Bulls forward] DeMar DeRozan's a brother to me and he speaks highly of him. He says he works hard, he's a great guy, he's handled his business, he's a professional on and off the floor. 

"When I hear those things, I root for guys around the league just to have success. 

"I think he's always been good. He never really got the opportunity to showcase what he's showcasing now, and the sky's the limit."

It was something of a breakout performance for White, who averaged just 8.4 points per game in his only previous playoff series, a 4-1 first-round defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022.

He was also part of the Chicago team beaten by the Heat in last year's Play-In Tournament, and they will get a chance to avenge that loss when they go to Kaseya Center on Friday.

"I'm just grateful to be where I'm at. That first playoff series I ever had in my career didn't go how I wanted it to go," White said. 

"Then last year, I played better in the Play-In, but this year, I didn't come into the game saying I was going to put the team on my back. 

"I just wanted to be aggressive and take what the defense gave me and try to lead."

DeRozan is glad to have the opportunity to banish the ghosts of last year's loss in Miami, saying: "I remember that plane ride back home vividly, everybody was just frustrated.

"That feeling sucked. I know for me that was one thing that was on my mind once I realised we were going back to Miami, not to have that same feeling."

The Miami Heat won’t have injured leading scorer Jimmy Butler in the lineup when they host the Chicago Bulls in Friday’s Eastern Conference do-or-die play-in tournament game.

Butler will be sidelined for several weeks due to a right MCL injury sustained in Wednesday’s 105-104 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, who clinched the No. 7 seed in the East.

Butler was hurt late in the first quarter when he tried to fake out Philadelphia’s Kelly Oubre Jr. and his knee buckled, causing the six-time All-Star to fall to the court.

A hobbled Butler remained in the game and wound up playing 40 minutes. He scored 19 points but shot 5 of 18 from the field.

Butler led Miami in the regular season with 20.8 points, 5.0 assists and 1.32 steals per game while also averaging 5.3 rebounds.

Last season, Butler won the Larry Bird Trophy as the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals as No. 8 seed Miami advanced to the NBA Finals before losing in five games to the Denver Nuggets.

The winner of Friday’s matchup between Miami and Chicago will capture the No. 8 seed in the East and move on to play the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Devin Booker racked up 52 points with a prolific shooting display that carried the Phoenix Suns to a 124-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday to tighten the Western Conference play-off race.

The win moved Phoenix within one game of New Orleans in the battle for the important No. 6 seed in the West. The top six teams in each conference are guaranteed a spot in the quarter-final round of the post-season, while teams seven through 10 will be forced to compete in the play-in tournament.

Phoenix was able to narrow the gap primarily behind Booker, who finished 19 of 28 from the field and 8 of 16 from 3-point range while adding nine assists.

The Suns also received 19 points and 19 rebounds from Jusuf Nurkic, while Kevin Durant had 20 points to help send the Pelicans to a second straight loss.

Both Booker and the Suns got off to sizzling starts, as the All-Star guard tallied 24 first-quarter points on 8-of-10 shooting during a dominant opening quarter. Seventeen of those points came during a 30-7 run that staked Phoenix to a 44-20 lead with under two minutes to go in the period.

Phoenix ended the first quarter up 46-28 and carried a 74-54 advantage into half-time with Booker amassing 37 points on 14-of-18 shooting over the first two quarters.

The Pelicans trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half but did make a belated push to get back in it, as Zion Williamson sparked an 8-0 run that CJ McCollum capped with a 3-pointer to pull New Orleans within 115-108 with 2:46 left.

That was as close as the Pelicans would get, however, as Booker scored his final two points on a layup with 1:34 to go that gave Phoenix a 119-110 lead.

Williamson paced New Orleans with 30 points and Trey Murphy recorded 21 in the loss. 

Krejci's perfect shooting night helps Hawks down Bulls

Vit Krejci went 6 of 6 from 3-point range for a career-high 18 points to help the surging Atlanta Hawks to a 113-101 win over the Chicago Bulls in a matchup of potential Eastern Conference play-in teams.

Krejci's flawless shooting, along with 20 points and six assists from Bogdan Bogdanović, powered the Hawks to a fifth win in six games and moved them within a half-game of ninth-place Chicago in the East standings. Dejounte Murray added 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Atlanta.

The Bulls got 31 points from DeMar DeRozan but failed to match Atlanta's accuracy from the perimeter, as they shot just 25 per cent (7 of 28) from 3-point range compared to 47.5 per cent (19 of 40) for the Hawks.

Krejci scored 15 points in the first half as Atlanta took a 61-53 lead into the break before extending the margin in the third quarter.

A DeAndre Hunter 3-pointer followed by Clint Capela's alley-oop dunk increased the Hawks' advantage to 75-62 five minutes into the third quarter, and Atlanta built a 90-74 lead entering the fourth after Garrison Mathews knocked down a triple in the final seconds of the third.

Coby White added 22 points for Chicago, which lost for the fifth time in seven games, while Andre Drummond accumulated 13 points and 18 rebounds off the bench.

Tatum, Hauser key Celtics' win over Hornets

Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser had 25 points each as the East-leading Boston Celtics stayed hot with a 118-104 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Tatum added 10 rebounds and Hauser went 7 of 11 on 3-point attempts as the Celtics posted their 11th win in their last 13 games. Boston, which has already clinched the East's No. 1 play-off seed, also received 20 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 19 from Derrick White.

Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges each had 14 first-half points to keep the underdog Hornets close for much of the first two quarters. The teams were tied at  53-53 with under two minutes to go until half-time before the Celtics closed out the second quarter with six straight points to forge ahead.

Boston then got further separation by outscoring Charlotte by a 36-26 margin in the third quarter, which Hauser capped with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 95-79. Porzingis recorded 11 of his points during the period.

Bridges ended with 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in Charlotte's eighth loss in its past nine games. Miller finished with 19 points and Grant Williams had 23 along with seven rebounds for the Hornets.

There is no danger of the Boston Celtics taking their foot off the pedal as the business end of the season approaches, said Sam Hauser after the NBA's best team made it nine straight wins.

Hauser joined Al Horford in scoring 23 points in support of Jayson Tatum (26) as the Celtics improved to 57-14 with a 124-113 road win over the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Saturday.

Tatum returned after missing Thursday's win over the Detroit Pistons to lead a short-handed Boston side to victory, with Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis absent after picking up minor injuries.

The Bulls led 92-91 in the closing minute of the third quarter only to run out of steam, failing to respond when Payton Pritchard scored six straight points for Boston and Hauser made a 3-pointer to extend their lead early in the fourth.

While the Celtics' focus is now firmly on the playoffs as they target a first NBA championship since 2008, Hauser says they will not ease up in the closing weeks of the regular season.

"We're just hungry for more," Hauser said. "It's not in our character to just mail it in for the rest of the season."

Horford, meanwhile, was most impressed by the way other players stepped up in the absence of Brown and Porzingis, with the Celtics making light of a gruelling run of five games in seven days.

"Different people, different guys, are ready to step up when their number is called," Horford said. 

"We all understand what we're trying to do, how we're trying to play. Guys are just staying ready and taking advantage of the opportunities."

The Celtics face back-to-back away games against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday and Wednesday as they continue their six-game road stretch.

The 34-37 Bulls, meanwhile, will look to strengthen their grasp on a Play-In spot when they host the Washington Wizards on Monday.

Jalen Green scored 26 points and Dillon Brooks added 23 before he was ejected as the Houston Rockets stretched their winning streak to seven games with a 127-117 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.

Jock Landale had 17 points and Aaron Holiday added 14 off the bench for Houston, which has gone 9-1 in March to get within 2 ½ games of Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan and Brooks were ejected for their part in an on-court scrum in the third quarter.

With 6:02 left in the third quarter, DeRozan committed a foul on Green that caused Brooks to become upset. DeRozan turned and subsequently elbowed Brooks in the chin, which prompted the melee.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting and DeRozan finished with 16 on 4-of-15 shooting as Chicago failed to win a third straight.

Jokic notches triple-double in Nuggets’ win

Nikola Jokić recorded his 22nd triple-double of the season with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the surging Denver Nuggets topped the New York Knicks, 113-100.

Jokic’s triple-double was the 127th of his career, a total bettered only by Russell Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138).

Michael Porter Jr. had 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting with eight rebounds and Jamal Murray added 23 points to help Denver win for the 13th time in 15 games. The Nuggets are percentage points behind Oklahoma City for first place in the Western Conference.

Porter also had three 3-pointers to give him 193 on the season and break Dale Ellis’ single-season team mark set in 1996-97.

Jalen Brunson scored 26 points for the Knicks, who had a four-game winning streak stopped.

Streaking Magic handle Pelicans

Paolo Banchero had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double and the Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 121-106, for their fifth straight win.

Banchero missed his first 10 shots, two of them free throws, but rallied to finish 9 of 18 from the field.

Jalen Suggs added 22 points and Franz Wagner had 18 for Orlando, which clinched its second winning season in 12 years by winning for the 18th time in 23 games.

Trey Murphy III scored 21 points and Zion Williamson tallied 20 points and seven rebounds but also had a season-high eight turnovers.

New Orleans, which had won seven of eight, lost forward Brandon Ingram early in the second half to an apparent left knee injury.

Luka Doncic was unable to continue his record-breaking NBA run of six straight 30-point triple-doubles but winning is the priority over individual statistics for the Dallas Mavericks star.

That was the message from Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd after Dallas cruised past the Chicago Bulls 127-92 on Monday.

Doncic had 27 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, posting yet another triple-double but this time without scoring 30 for the first time in seven games.

"It's about winning to him," Kidd said. "Numbers, I don't know if they really mean anything to him today.

"But when he does retire, he'll look back to see the game that he was playing was at a different level than anybody else."

Doncic exited the rout midway through the fourth quarter but still boasts seven straight 20-point triple-doubles, joining Michael Jordan (1989) and Oscar Robertson (1961) for the longest such streak in NBA history.

Former Bulls center Daniel Gafford also converted all nine field goals, extending his run of consecutive shots without missing to 28, just seven shy of the NBA record.

"My philosophy for sure is just being consistent, having a mindset of just going to finish everything no matter if there's somebody in front of you or if there isn't somebody in front of you," Gafford said.

"At the end of the day, either dunking it or putting it in the rim."

Onuralp Bitim was a rare bright Chicago spark with a career-high 17 points, while DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic each scored 13, though that did not stop Dallas from winning a third straight game.

"We gave up a lot of rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

"We've got to be more pulled in than we were. ... We kind of were too worried with getting back out to that 3-point line instead of saying, 'Hey, we're going to take away the roll.'"

Kevin Durant scored 24 of his 37 points in the second half to help rally the Phoenix Suns to a 117-111 win over the hobbled Cleveland Cavaliers in a key inter-conference clash on Monday.

Durant added eight rebounds and six assists for Phoenix, which overcame a 19-point deficit in the second quarter while being boosted by All-Star Devin Booker's return from a sprained ankle.

Booker contributed 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting along with seven rebounds in 38 minutes after missing the Suns' last four games.

Darius Garland went 7 of 10 from 3-point range and finished with 30 points for the Cavaliers, who were again without three injured starters in All-Star Donovan Mitchell, forward Evan Mobley and guard Max Strus. Caris LeVert recorded 17 points and 11 assists in the loss. 

Cleveland has lost two straight and dropped a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for first place in the Central Division.

Garland and the Cavs came out hot, as the standout guard put up 21 first-quarter points and Cleveland shot 66.7 per cent for the period to build a 41-32 lead. The margin grew in the second quarter, as Garland buried a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run that put the hosts up 63-44 with 4:50 left before half-time.

Phoenix closed the gap to 70-63 at the intermission before outscoring the Cavaliers by a 34-21 margin in the third quarter to pull ahead. Durant led the way with 19 points for the period on 6-of-8 shooting. 

Cleveland fought back to tie the game at 104-104 with under eight minutes left, but Booker and Durant led the Suns on a 9-3 flurry that the latter finished with a 3-pointer that gave the Suns a 113-107 lead with 3:43 remaining.

Doncic extends triple-doubles streak, but 30-point run ends

Luka Dončić posted his seventh consecutive triple-double, though his record run of six straight games of at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists came to an end in the Dallas Mavericks' 127-92 rout of the Chicago Bulls.

Doncic recorded 14 assists and 12 rebounds but failed to hit the 30-point mark after being removed from the blowout win midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with 27 points.

Dallas also dominated inside en route to its third consecutive victory, as post players Derrick Lively and Daniel Gafford combined for 44 points on 20-of-21 shooting. Lively missed just one of his 12 attempts while compiling a career-high 22 points, while Gafford was 9 of 9 from the field to end with 20 points.

Gafford is now a perfect 28 of 28 on field goal attempts over his last four games.

The Mavericks set the tone right from the start, as they outscored Chicago by a whopping 44-16 margin in the first quarter while shooting 64.3 per cent as a team. Doncic had 15 points and seven assists for the period and Lively chipped in 10 points in just six minutes.

Chicago never mounted a serious threat the rest of the way, as Dallas took a 62-42 lead into half-time and went ahead by as many as 34 points in the third quarter.

Onuralp Bitim led the Bulls with a career-high 17 points off the bench. Chicago has now lost two straight following a three-game winning streak on the road from March 4-7.

Jokic, Nuggets overcome 22-point deficit to top Raptors

Nikola Jokić compiled a 35-point, 17-rebound, 12-assist triple-double that helped spark a big second-half comeback which lifted the Denver Nuggets to a hard-earned 125-119 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Denver trailed by 21 points in the third quarter and as many as 22 in the game before rallying behind Jokic and Jamal Murray, who recorded 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and scored the go-ahead bucket with 6:48 left to play.

Jokic also had a season-high six steals in addition to his 21st triple-double of the season.

The Nuggets moved to 9-1 since the All-Star break, though the underdog Raptors gave the defending NBA champions all they could handle for much of the night.

Toronto opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to build a 45-32 lead and extended the margin to 68-51 at the break behind 15 points from RJ Barrett and 13 from rookie Gradey Dick.

The Nuggets began chipping away late in the third quarter, as they closed out the period on a 16-5 spurt to trim the deficit to 98-93 entering the fourth. Jokic had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the quarter.

Murray's floater midway through the fourth quarter gave Denver a 108-107 lead, though the Raptors continued to keep it close until Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer with 1:02 left to play proved to be too much to overcome as the Nuggets took a 124-119 edge into the final minute.

Barrett finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Toronto, which also received 24 points from Kelly Olynyk but lost for a fourth consecutive time.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine hopes to be fit for the start of the next NBA campaign after his season-ending injury to his right foot.

LaVine, who has not played since mid-January due to an ankle sprain, elected for surgery and will have been out for between four and six months by the time he returns to the court.

The Bulls man joined his teammates in Los Angeles before Saturday's 112-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, who overturned a 14-point deficit for victory.

Speaking on his personal decision for surgery, LaVine insisted the operation was the best way to progress in his rehabilitation.

"You never want to have surgery," he said. "But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, your pain level, this thing isn't going to heal on its own."

Having met up with his Bulls teammates before the Clippers defeat, LaVine sees no issue with settling back into the Chicago group.

"Same way it always has been," he said about the idea of fitting back in with the team. "It's not hard to fit back in, especially with the way I play the game and want to go out there and help."

Lonzo Ball, who has not played since January 2022 because of knee injuries, is also having rehabilitation treatment in Los Angeles.

Chicago coach Billy Donovan suggested Ball is recovering well, saying: "There's a lot of time for where he's at right now to get himself back hopefully where he gets cleared to play 5-on-5 and contact. 

"That's going to be the biggest thing. Whenever he gets to that place."

The Bulls dropped to 31-33 for the season after losing in Los Angeles but LaVine expects Chicago to bounce back.

"I talk to these guys pretty much every day, every game," he added. "It's been great, they've been winning a lot of games, a lot of games that come down to the wire."

Damian Lillard poured in 41 points and helped lead a fourth-quarter rally as the Milwaukee Bucks withstood Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence and remained unbeaten since the All-Star break with Monday's 113-106 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Despite Antetokounmpo sitting out with left Achilles tendinitis, the Bucks moved to 6-0 following the break behind Lillard and Bobby Portis, who scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter after Milwaukee trailed by as many as 15 in the third.

Portis added a season-high 16 rebounds for Milwaukee, which took the lead for good with a 15-0 run that erased a 96-90 deficit with under 5 1/2 minutes left.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Lillard and Patrick Beverley began the spurt, which Portis capped with four consecutive points that gave Milwaukee a 105-96 advantage with under two minutes to go. 

The Clippers, who shot just 35 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to Milwaukee's 61.9 per cent, never got closer than five points down the rest of the way.

Los Angeles owned a 74-59 lead just past the midway point of the third quarter, but the Bucks scored the period's final five points and pulled to within 81-73 entering the fourth on Malik Beasley's triple in the final seconds.

The Clippers, who were coming off Sunday's 89-88 road win over the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, got 29 points each from Paul George and James Harden. Kawhi Leonard finished with 16 points, but was held to one in the fourth quarter while going 0 for 4 from the field.

Lakers continue surge, knock Thunder out of first in West

It was a better night for Los Angeles' other team, as the Lakers continued their recent strong play by knocking the Oklahoma City Thunder out of first place in the Western Conference with a 116-104 victory.

D'Angelo Russell recorded 26 points and Anthony Davis had 24 along with 12 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 10-4 since Feb. 1. Los Angeles currently stands in ninth place in the West but is now just two games behind the sixth-place Phoenix Suns, with the top six teams guaranteed a first-round play-off series.

The Thunder, who were coming off a 118-110 win over Phoenix on Sunday, shot just 39.4 per cent and fell a half-game behind Minnesota for the West's top spot after the Timberwolves registered a 119-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 20 points but finished 5 of 13 from the field.

The Lakers seized control with a 12-0 run to build a 37-27 lead with seven minutes left in the second quarter, and went into the break owning a 52-43 advantage behind 10 points from Russell and Austin Reaves. 

Davis then took over in the third quarter, as the All-Star forward netted 15 points in the period as Los Angeles stretched its lead to 89-72 entering the fourth. 

The Lakers' margin grew to as much as 25 points in the final quarter before the Thunder scored the game's final 13 points with the outcome already determined.

Bulls stun Kings with furious late comeback

Coby White put up a career-high 37 points and helped ignite a big second-half comeback that carried the Chicago Bulls to a stunning 113-109 road win over the Sacramento Kings.

Chicago trailed by 22 points late in the third quarter before outscoring the Kings by a 36-18 margin in the fourth to deal Sacramento a third loss in four games. DeMar DeRozan had 19 of his 33 points in the final period, while White tallied 24 of his points in the second half.

After closing out the third quarter on a 10-2 run to cut their deficit to 91-77, the Bulls continued to chip away in the fourth. They outscored the Kings by an 18-5 count over the final 5 1/2 minutes and held Sacramento without a point over the last 2:20.

White's layup off a Sacramento turnover tied the contest at 109-109 with 1:32 left, and after the Kings gave the ball away on their next possession as well, White again drove the lane and scored to put Chicago ahead with 47.6 seconds to go.

The Bulls would miss their next two shots, but got a late offensive rebound before DeRozan was able to seal the victory with two free throws with 3.5 seconds left.

De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 20 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a two-game absence, while Domantas Sabonis grabbed 21 rebounds to go along with 18 points before fouling out with 2:57 remaining.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 46 points as he became the player with the most wins in the Milwaukee Bucks' history on Friday, with the Chicago Bulls beaten 113-97 at United Center.

For Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers, however, the focus is squarely on preparing for the postseason as the Bucks eye their third NBA Championship.

Antetokounmpo surpassed the 40-point mark for the eighth time this season, also adding 16 rebounds and six assists, as the Bucks recorded their fifth straight victory.

The win was the 489th of Antetokounmpo's Bucks career including both regular-season and playoff games, taking the two-time NBA MVP clear of Sidney Moncrief as the winningest player in franchise history.

"Everybody has to be on the same page, and I feel like the last couple of games, we're doing that and that's why our defense has taken a step," Antetokounmpo said after the win. 

"Hopefully, we can keep it up. Right now, it's just about trust. We've just got to trust one another. That's it, win or lose, we have to have the same trust."

For coach Rivers, who has led the team to an 8-7 run since replacing Adrian Griffin in January, all that matters is ensuring Milwaukee are ready for the postseason.

"We're winning games, but for us, it's not about that right now," Rivers said. "Our whole key is getting ready. That's the first thing I told the players. 

"We still have work to do, we're still pushing, we've got to get better. It's nicer to get wins than to lose, but we're not where we want to be yet."

Milwaukee, who sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 40-21 record, are back in action against the 38-20 Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. 

They then embark on a four-game California road stretch on Wednesday, when they face the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. 

Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics overcame Luka Dončić’s second straight triple-double in a 138-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks for their 10th consecutive win on Friday.

Jaylen Brown had 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 24 as seven Celtics scored in double figures.

Doncic had 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his 12th triple-double of the season and 68th of his career.

NBA-leading Boston knocked down 21 3-pointers and shot 55.3 percent (52-of-94) from the field to remain unbeaten since a loss to the Lakers on Feb. 1.

The 10-game streak is the longest for the Celtics since a 10-game run during the 2019-20 season.

Kyrie Irving scored 19 points against his former team but shot 9 of 23 as Dallas lost for the third time in four games.

Antetokounmpo powers streaking Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 46 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Chicago Bulls 113-97 for their fifth consecutive win.

Antetokoumpo shot 16 of 22 from the field, made 2 of 3 from long range and sank 12 of 16 free throws in his eighth 40-plus point game this season.

Patrick Beverley scored 14 points and Brook Lopez added 12 for the Bucks, who improved to 8-7 under Doc Rivers and moved into a virtual tie with Cleveland for first place in the Central Division.

Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan became the 35th player in NBA history to accumulate 23,000 points. He scored 12 points – all but two in the second half – and was 5 of 13 from the field after missing his first six shots.

Coby White led the Bulls with 22 points and Nikola Vucevic added 17 with nine rebounds.

Warriors win again on road

Stephen Curry scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 to lead the Golden State Warriors to their eighth straight road win, 120-105 over the Toronto Raptors, who lost All-Star Scottie Barnes.

Moses Moody had 17 points and Klay Thompson was next with 14 as the Warriors won their third straight and 13th in 15 games.

Barnes broke his left middle finger late in the first half and the Raptors said he would be out indefinitely. He had 10 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes, ending a career-best streak of five consecutive double-doubles.

Golden State overcame some troublesome travel after it had to switch planes following Thursday night’s win over New York. The Warriors endured a long wait on the tarmac, finally arriving at its Toronto hotel shortly after 7 a.m. Friday morning.

Damian Lillard was honoured to achieve a feat only previously accomplished by Michael Jordan on the NBA's All-Star weekend. 

Lillard saw off competition from the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns and the Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young to win the 3-point contest on Saturday, then he dazzled again one day later.

The Milwaukee Bucks guard was named All-Star Game MVP after putting up 39 points as the Eastern Conference All-Stars recorded a 211-186 win over their Western Conference counterparts. 

Chicago Bulls legend Jordan is the only previous player to complete such a double, having taken the 1988 dunk contest before winning the first of his three All-Star MVP trophies.

For Lillard, who was appearing in his eighth All-Star Game but his first as a starter, following in Jordan's footsteps made it all the more memorable. 

"Anytime you're mentioned in the same category as Mike, it's an honour, it's a major accomplishment, even if it's All-Star weekend," Lillard said during his post-game news conference. 

"Because if it was that simple, more people would have done it. I'm a vet in the game at this point. Why not go and try to get an MVP? I've been here enough."

However, a perceived lack of competitiveness in Sunday's All-Star Game – the highest-scoring in history – led to criticism from some quarters. 

The league's all-time leading scorer LeBron James said the All-Star Game "is something we need to figure out", with players unwilling to risk injury in the mid-season exhibition. 

Asked for his views on that debate, Lillard said: "I think it could be more competitive, 200 is a lot to be scored. It shows we didn't go out there and compete like I guess you would want us to. 

"But I think that's just what it is. Guys are talented, they make a lot of shots. We hit a lot of 3s, and that was it."

Lillard joined the Bucks in a blockbuster trader from the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the season, but his first campaign in Milwaukee has been a turbulent one. 

The Bucks fired coach Adrian Griffin last month, bringing in Doc Rivers after a short interim stint for Joe Prunty. They sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-21 record, but have lost five of their last seven games.

"It's been a tough year with the transition to a new team, we've had three coaches since I've been there," Lillard said.

"Anytime you have these types of experiences where you have adversity, that's the time you've got to show who you really are. 

"Keep doing what you do, keep believing, and when you do that, usually it comes back to you. You just can't fold."

The Chicago Bulls will be without Zach LaVine for the rest of the campaign.

LaVine, who has had a stop-start season, will undergo surgery on a foot issue next week.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan confirmed on Saturday that LaVine, who has not played since mid-January due to an ankle sprain, had elected to go under the knife and will miss between four and six months.

"He made a decision he felt was best for his health," Donovan said.

"I really feel like he did everything he could to try to get himself back to playing.

"The discomfort in his foot was at a place where I think he didn't feel like he had any chance to be himself. That was the really frustrating part of it.

"He's kind of been in and out, but certainly you'd like to have a player of his calibre available.

"Now with the news coming out we'll have to play without him. I've always said when you lose really good players, it impacts your team."