NBA Today
Golden State at Denver (9 p.m. EDT). The Warriors hold a half-game lead over the Nuggets for the final playoff position in the Western Conference.
STARS
-Carlos Boozer, Jazz, scored 34 points in a 121-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
-Raymond Felton, Bobcats, hit a crucial basket along with a pair of free throws in the final minute to lift Charlotte to a 96-93 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
FLYING HIGH
Mike Bibby scored 30 points and the Atlanta Hawks held on after nearly blowing a 22-point lead, giving themselves some breathing room in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a 106-103 victory over the slumping Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Atlanta won for the sixth time in eight games and made up for a 103-94 loss at Chicago on Tuesday. The Hawks, trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999, pushed their lead on New Jersey to 1 1/2 games for the eighth spot in the East.
NOT ENOUGH
Rudy Gay led five players in double figures with 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-111 despite 53 points by Kobe Bryant against the NBA's worst road team Friday night. The Lakers lost their second in a row to another of the NBA's lesser teams, having been beaten by Charlotte on Wednesday night. The latest loss kept them from joining New Orleans and San Antonio in a three-way tie for the Western Conference lead.
STREAKING
Manu Ginobili scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the San Antonio Spurs picked up their sixth straight win with a 99-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
SNAPPED
The Boston Celtics defeated the New Orleans Hornets 112-92 on Friday night, ending the Hornets' five-game winning streak.
KOBE'S 5-0
Kobe Bryant scored 53 points in the Lakers' 114-111 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Bryant scored 50 or more points for the 24th time and the second time this month. He had 52 against Dallas on March 2.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Vince Carter scored 33 points for the Nets in a 123-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
SPEAKING
``We lost to two teams that thankfully we won't be seeing in the playoffs. I don't think it's dire straits by any stretch of the imagination, but still we got to buck up here.'' - Kobe Bryant, who scored 53 points in the Lakers' 114-111 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. The Lakers lost to Memphis - the NBA's worst road team - and Charlotte in consecutive games.