Pacers Regain Conference Lead – NBA Roundup

UNDATED (AP) — The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat have swapped places atop the NBA's Eastern Conference.

The Pacers now have a half-game lead after Chris Copeland's driving layup with 1.2 seconds remaining gave them a 104-102 victory at Milwaukee. Copeland finished with a season-high 18 points for the Pacers, who benched their usual starting lineup for the entire game. Luis Scola took advantage of additional playing time to score a season-best 24 points, while Evan Turner added 23.

LeBron James poured in 37 points, but the Heat absorbed a 107-102 loss against a Memphis team that's trying to keep its postseason hopes alive. Zach Randolph had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL') added 20 points and 14 rebounds to help the Grizzlies stay one game behind Phoenix for the last Western Conference playoff seed.

Also in the NBA:

— Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as Oklahoma City beat the Los Angeles Clippers to move 2 ½ games ahead of the third-place Clippers in the West. Kevin Durant shot just 8-for-26 but finished with 27 points for the Thunder.

— Dorell Wright hit a 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds left to lift Portland over Sacramento 100-99. LaMarcus Aldridge delivered 22 points in the Blazers' sixth victory in seven games.

— Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lift Toronto to its fourth straight win, 125-114 over Philadelphia. Kyle Lowry led the Atlantic Division leaders with 29 points in his first game back after missing three with a bruised kneecap.

— Orlando helped out the Raptors as Arron Afflalo (af-LAH'-loh) scored 25 points and E'Twaun (EE'-twahn) Moore added 17 in a 115-111 win over Brooklyn, ending the Nets' three-game winning streak. The Nets got 31 points from Joe Johnson and still fell three games behind Toronto with four to play.

— Kemba Walker made the only overtime basket for either team and scored five of his 17 points in the extra session as Charlotte downed Washington 94-88. Al Jefferson had 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Walker finished with 12 assists to help the Bobcats move into sixth place in the East with their fifth straight win.

— Chicago knocked off Minnesota 102-87 as Joakim (JOH'-keem) Noah posted his league-high fourth triple-double of the season, finishing with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. D.J. Augustin (AW'-guhs-teen) had a team-high 21 points and Kirk Hinrich (HYN'-rihk) added 16 on 7 of 9 shooting.

— Randy Foye scored 24 of his 30 points in the second half of Denver's 123-116 victory over Houston. Kenneth Faried had 23 points and Timofey Mozgov added 22 for the Rockets.

— Gerald Green scored 21 points and Phoenix picked up its third straight win by defeating New Orleans 94-88. Goran Dragic (DRAH'-gihch) had 20 points and nine assists for the Suns, who are clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

— Jeff Teague (teeg) scored 19 points and Kyle Korver added 17 as Atlanta topped Boston 105-97 to get closer to a playoff spot. The Hawks eliminated Cleveland and moved two games ahead of New York for the final Eastern Conference postseason berth with four games remaining.

— Dion Waiters scored 22 points and Tyler Zeller added 18 in the Cavaliers' 122-100 rout of Detroit.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has agreed to a multiyear contract extension. He had one year left on his current contract.

The Lakers' latest defeat was their 53rd of the season, matching the franchise record set in 1958.

Kupchak has been in the Lakers' front office since 1986 and took charge of the basketball operations when Jerry West departed in 2000.