SCOREBOARD
Monday, April 16
Phoenix at Houston (8:30 p.m. EDT). The Suns have won five straight.
STARS
Sunday
-Jason Richardson, Warriors, had 32 points and 12 rebounds to give Golden State a crucial 121-108 win over Minnesota.
-Kobe Bryant, Lakers, scored 50 points in the Lakers’ 109-98 win over Seattle.
THAT’S 10
Kobe Bryant scored 50 points in the Lakers’ 109-98 win over Seattle on Sunday night, giving him 50 or more for the 10th time this season. It’s the third-highest total in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 45 times with 50 or more in 1961-62, and Chamberlain’s 30 times the following season. Bryant has reached the 50-point plateau 21 times in his career.
‘T’ PARTY
Referee Joey Crawford ejected the mild-mannered Tim Duncan from San Antonio’s 91-86 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Duncan’s second technical came while he was laughing on the bench and meant an automatic ejection, just the second of his nine-year career.
WIN AND IN
Orlando clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with their 88-86 win over Boston on Sunday night and Indiana’s 111-107 loss to New Jersey.
THREE’S A CHARM
Toronto earned the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 107-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night. The Raptors matched their franchise record of 47 wins, accomplished in 2000-01. They clinched their first Atlantic title last month and are going to the playoffs for the first time in five years.
THANKS, RON
Ron Artest had a career-high 10 assists in Sacramento’s 105-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
SPEAKING
“He looked at me and said, `Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?’ If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, `Do you want to fight?”’ – Tim Duncan on referee Joey Crawford, who gave the Spurs’ star two technical fouls and ejected him from San Antonio’s 91-86 loss to Dallas on Sunday.