LOS ANGELES — Point guard Reggie Jackson wouldn’t let Detroit be denied, scoring 39 points in a 112-99 triumph over the Washington Wizards that saw the Pistons clinch their first NBA playoff berth in seven seasons Friday.
Tobias Harris had 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Pistons, who squandered a 19-point lead before ending the longest post-season drought in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s huge for us, it’s huge for our organization,” said coach and team president Stan Van Gundy.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 14 points and Marcus Morris chipped in 13 for the Pistons, who will make their first post-season appearance since the 2008-09 season.
All-Star Andre Drummond, who scored his 4,000th career point, was limited to eight points and six rebounds for the Pistons, whose victory officially extinguished the playoff hopes of the Wizards. Washington didn’t go down without a fight.
Markieff Morris led the Wizards with 29 points. Bradley Beal added 25 for a Washington coping with the absence of All-Star guard John Wall, who missed a second straight game with a sore right knee.
Clippers 102, Jazz 99 (OT): Jamal Crawford scored 30 points and hit a game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to lift short-handed Los Angeles to a shocking victory over Utah.
The Clippers, who’ve already clinched the No. 4 spot in the playoffs, played without the bulk of their starting lineup as Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan remained in Los Angeles for rest.
Nuggets 102, Spurs 98: Jusuf Nurkic scored 21 points and Emmanuel Mudiay had 20 as Denver handed San Antonio its first losing streak of the season.
Playing one night after losing in Golden State and arriving in Denver in the early morning hours, San Antonio rested six players that accounted for 72 percent of their point production.
San Antonio (65-14) faces Golden State again Sunday at home and coach Gregg Popovich said before Friday’s game he plans to use his entire roster. The Spurs, who were led by Tim Duncan’s 21 points, are locked into the Western Conference’s second seed.
Raptors 111, Pacers 98: Rookie Norman Powell scored a career-high 27 points to help Toronto get past Indiana.
Powell, a 23-year-old shooting guard from UCLA, made the most of a rare start by driving and getting to the free-throw line 19 times, hitting 14.
Indiana (42-37) had a three-game winning streak snapped and was kept from clinching a playoff spot. The Pacers are one victory or a Chicago Bulls loss from punching their postseason ticket.
Celtics 124, Bucks 109: Tyler Zeller matched a career high with 26 points off the bench and Boston, continuing its quest to finish third in the Eastern Conference, set up a Saturday showdown with the Hawks in Atlanta by hammering Milwaukee.
The win, their fourth straight and eighth in the last 10 games, moved the Celtics into a tie with the Hawks for third in the conference. The Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets are each a game behind and Boston (47-32) hosts Charlotte on Monday and Miami on Wednesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his recent torrid offense by scoring 17 of his 27 points in the first quarter but fell victim to second-half foul trouble.
Jabari Parker scored 18 points, Miles Plumlee had 16 and Tyler Ennis had nine assists.
Magic 112, Heat 109: Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and Evan Fournier had 28 to lead Orlando past Miami.
The Magic (34-45) snapped the Heat’s two-game winning streak and hurt the Heat’s efforts to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Elfrid Payton had 16 points and 10 assists for Orlando. Victor Oladipo, who left the game late in the third quarter with a cut over an eye, had 13 points.
Dwyane Wade led the way with 17 points for Miami (46-33). Goran Dragic had 15 points and eight assists. Hassan Whiteside contributed 13 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Other results: Hornets 113, Nets 99; Pelicans 110, Lakers 102; Knicks 109, 76ers 102.
