James Sprains Ankle in Loss to Pistons

LeBron James hopped on his right foot, sparing his sprained left ankle, and the Cleveland Cavaliers gasped a week before their first playoff appearance since 1998.

The Detroit Pistons were en route to a 96-73 victory when James was hurt Wednesday at Auburn Hills, Mich. The win moved them to within one game of earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

James landed awkwardly while being guarded by Tayshaun Prince on a three-point play.

“It’s sprained pretty good, but nothing serious,” said James, who had 22 points. “You never really know until the next day, but I’ve had them before, and this is nothing that bad.”

Rasheed Wallace had 16 points for the Pistons, who would secure home-court advantage with one more win, or a San Antonio loss.

Detroit (63-15) tied the club record for victories, set during the 1988-89 season. The Pistons are also 36-3 at home, one victory away from the team record with two games left at the Palace.

Golden State 114, Dallas 102 -- Jason Richardson scored 25 points at Oakland to help the Warriors end a nine-game losing streak and damage the Mavericks’ hopes for the best record in the West with their third victory over them this season.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 for the Mavericks, whose five-game winning streak ended and who trail West-leading San Antonio by 1 1/2 games.

Chicago 96, Atlanta 90 -- Ben Gordon had 19 points at Atlanta to help keep the Bulls in a tie with Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot despite playing without starters Chris Duhon (back) and Luol Deng (concussion).

Josh Smith had 22 points and six blocked shots for Atlanta, playing without Al Harrington (hand).

Philadelphia 116, New Jersey 96 -- After losing 10 of 13, the 76ers won their third in a row, with Allen Iverson finishing with 40 points and 10 assists at East Rutherford, N.J..

Chris Webber returned with 18 points after sitting out two games because of a lower back strain.

Vince Carter scored 21 for New Jersey, which fell to 1-3 since tying a club record with 14 straight wins.

Indiana 117, Boston 112 -- Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points, Jermaine O’Neal had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and the host Pacers stayed ahead of Milwaukee in sixth place in the East.

Boston was eliminated from the playoff race.

Milwaukee 100, Washington 97 -- Michael Redd scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half, including the game winning basket with 19 seconds left, to help the host Bucks end a four-game losing streak.

Gilbert Arenas scored 25 for Washington.

Orlando 103, Toronto 96 -- Jameer Nelson had 27 points, and the Magic won its 11th in a row at home in handing the Raptors their 10th straight loss. Morris Peterson had 23 points for Toronto.

Utah 104, Denver 83 -- Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 13 rebounds at Salt Lake City to help the Jazz return to .500 and move to within 1 1/2 games of Sacramento for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

New Orleans 104, Seattle 99 -- Chris Paul scored 21 points at Oklahoma City, and the Hornets moved within 2 1/2 games of Sacramento for the final playoff spot in the West.

The teams meet Sunday at Sacramento.

Ray Allen scored 36 for Seattle.

Memphis 96, Charlotte 88 -- Eddie Jones led six Grizzlies in double figures with 16 points at Charlotte, N.C.

Minnesota 82, Houston 79 -- Marcus Banks had 15 points as the Timberwolves overcame an 18-point deficit to end a 14-game road losing streak.