New York: The San Antonio Spurs moved to within one victory of securing the Western Conference top seed for the play-offs yesterday as the NBA’s leading contenders continued to jostle for position in the final week of the regular season.
The Spurs easily defeated Cleveland 114-98, after Oklahoma City suffered a heartbreaking double overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, handing San Antonio a one-and-a-half game advantage over the Thunder in the conference.
San Antonio, who would finish ahead of Oklahoma City by virtue of the tie-breaker between the teams should they finish level, can clinch the top seed with a victory over Portland.
Oklahoma City sustained a blow in their 114-106 loss to the Lakers in a physical battle that saw Los Angeles forward Metta World Peace ejected after striking James Harden with an elbow to the head in the second quarter.
World Peace -- who legally changed his name from Ron Artest in September -- had just jammed in a dunk that pulled the Lakers within one point with less than two minutes left in the first half when the incident occurred.
He beat his chest with his fist in celebration of the dunk and turned to head for the other end of the court.
He swung his left elbow, smashing it into the head and neck of Harden, who crumpled to the floor.
Harden eventually rose and departed for the locker room. His teammates immediately went after World Peace but the officials stepped in to keep the two teams apart.
Officials then slapped World Peace with a flagrant foul penalty and booted him out of the game. The flagrant foul could carry a suspension.
His loss would be a blow for the playoff-bound Lakers.
After a sluggish start to the season he has averaged 14 points, four rebounds and three assists in April.
The Lakers, who lead cross-town rivals the Clippers in a race for third place in the Western Conference, went on to erase an 18-point second-half deficit to beat the Thunder 114-106 in double overtime.
Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant had six of his 26 points in the second overtime. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 35 points, but the Thunder failed to gain any ground on San Antonio for top spot in the Western Conference.
Despite his choice of name, “Peace†hasn’t always been a hallmark of the former Artest’s career.
In 2004, he received one of the longest NBA bans in history, sitting out 86 games, for his role in a brawl with fans in which he raced into the stands in Detroit.
As a result of Oklahoma City’s loss, the San Antonio Spurs’ magic number to clinch the top seed in the Western Conference is just one.
Manu Ginobili scored 20 points, while Stephen Jackson added 17 as the Spurs won their seventh straight game 114-98 against Cleveland Sunday
Meanwhile, Denver edged in front of Dallas for sixth in the same conference following their 101-74 blowout of Orlando.
In the Eastern Conference, Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points to help the New York Knicks edge Atlanta 113-112 and move half a game ahead of Philadelphia for seventh in the East.
A shorthanded Miami Heat beat Houston 97-88 behind 32 points from LeBron James. The Heat trail East-leading Chicago by two games with as many contests remaining.AGENCIES
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