Lin, Hornets Deliver Sting to C’s

Boston — Jeremy Lin scored 19 of his 25 points in Charlotte’s big second quarter, carrying the Hornets to a 114-100 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

Kemba Walker scored 18 points, and Al Jefferson and Marvin Williams each had 16 for the Hornets, who are in a tight race with Boston and Miami in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley led Boston with 17 points apiece. It was just the Celtics’ third loss in their past 21 home games.

As with many of his visits to Boston, Lin had a number of Asian-American fans holding signs and cheering his play. The 27-year-old guard starred at Harvard. Four years ago when he sparked the New York Knicks, Lin’s rise was called “Linsanity.”

His big game came a night after he scored one point in a loss to Washington.

Cavaliers 109, Hawks 94

Cleveland — LeBron James scored 34 points in three quarters, Kyrie Irving added 35 and Cleveland clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win over Atlanta.

James scored 19 in the third quarter and only sat for four of the first 36 minutes as the Cavs ensured they’ll have home-court advantage until the NBA Finals.

Wizards 120, Nets 111

New York — Ramon Sessions had 21 points and 12 assists, and Washington recovered after blowing all of its 20-0 lead to beat Brooklyn.

Marcus Thornton scored 19 points as he and Sessions did just fine in replacing injured starting guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Magic 107, Bucks 98

Orlando, Fla. — Ersan Ilyasova scored 22 points and Mario Hezonja added 19 to help Orlando Magic defeat Milwaukee in its home finale.

The victory allowed the Magic to close out the regular season strong at home where they won five of their final six games, including two straight to finish the year 23-18 at the Amway Center.

Rockets 129Timberwolves 105

Minneapolis — James Harden scored 34 points and Dwight Howard had 19 points and eight rebounds to keep Houston’s playoff hopes alive with a victory over Minnesota.

Thunder 112, Lakers 79

Oklahoma City — Kevin Durant scored 34 points and Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime to help Oklahoma beat Los Angeles in the final road game of Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career.

Bulls 121, Pelicans 116

New Orleans — Jimmy Butler scored 12 of his 23 points in the last six minutes and short-handed Chicago beat injury-riddled New Orleans.

Nikola Mirotic added 20 points and Cristiano Felicio matched his career high with 16 for the Bulls. Butler was the only regular in the starting lineup. Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol sat after Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs when Indiana won Sunday.

James Ennis had a career-high 29 points for the Pelicans, who have been without all five of their leading scorers for two weeks. Toney Douglas contributed 21 points, and Tim Frazier had 20 points and 11 assists.

With the score tied at 106, Butler took over down the stretch.