Lakers clinch playoff spot behind Bryant’s 50 points

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant had the touch, so he kept taking shots.

Bryant finished with 50 points on 18-for-25 shooting Sunday night to carry the Lakers to a 109-98 victory over Seattle that clinched a playoff spot for Los Angeles.

"We feel much better. We needed this type of win," Bryant said after the Lakers won for just the third time in 11 games.

Bryant said that when the playoffs begin, he may score a lot of points and he may not.

"If the jumper is on, we'll ride it out," he said. "If it's not, we'll have to find another way to win. Our defensive continuity is going to be our biggest challenge."

Phil Jackson, whose teams have never missed the playoffs in his 17 years as an NBA coach, said the Lakers still have a lot of work to do.

"I think there's a sigh of relief, but I do think they know that they have to improve their play, too," he said. "I've been telling them that if you're going to play and give away games at the end, it doesn't matter if you go into the playoffs.

"You're just going to be fodder for the teams that you have to play against."

The Lakers, who have one regular-season game remaining, at Sacramento on Wednesday night, will finish seventh or eighth in the Western Conference and face either Dallas or Phoenix in the first round.

Bryant scored 50 or more for the 10th time this season, the third-highest total in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 45 times with 50 or more in 1961-62, and Chamberlain's 30 times the following season.

Bryant has reached the 50-point plateau 21 times in his career.

The Lakers, in the habit lately of blowing late leads, lost all but one point of their once-substantial margin against the Sonics. Seattle, behind by 19 points in the first half, narrowed the margin to 87-86 midway through the final quarter. But Bryant then scored eight points as Los Angeles opened a 99-89 lead with three minutes remaining.

• Magic 88, Celtics 86 -- At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu blocked Delonte West's driving layup at the buzzer to help Orlando clinch its first playoff berth in four years with a win over Boston.

The Magic's win and Indiana's 111-107 loss against New Jersey combined to clinch the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs for Orlando.

• Nets 111, Pacers 107 -- At Indianapolis, Vince Carter scored 35 points to help New Jersey knock Indiana out of the postseason race.

Bostjan Nachbar scored 25 points and shot 6-for-6 from 3-point range, and Jason Kidd had 12 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Nets.

• Warriors 121, Timberwolves 108 -- At Oakland, Calif., Jason Richardson had 32 points and 12 rebounds as Golden State surged ahead in the race for the Western Conference's final playoff spot with a victory over Minnesota.

The Warriors got back to .500 for the first time since mid-January with their seventh victory in eight games.

Golden State can end its 12-year playoff drought, the NBA's longest current streak, with season-ending wins over Dallas and Portland.

• Kings 105, Clippers 100 -- At Los Angeles, reserve swingman Francisco Garcia scored 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, and Ron Artest had a career-high 10 assists to lead Sacramento over fading Los Angeles.

Mike Bibby scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half as the Kings dealt a severe blow to the Clippers' playoff hopes.

Los Angeles fell one game behind eighth-place Golden State in the Western Conference.

The Clippers end the regular season with games Tuesday at Phoenix and Wednesday at home against New Orleans.

• Raptors 107, Knicks 105 -- At Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 23 points and Toronto earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a victory over New York.

Anthony Parker and Joey Graham each added 19 points for the Raptors, who won their season-high sixth straight game and will be the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

• Mavericks 91, Spurs 86 -- At Dallas, although their meeting had little bearing on the playoff picture, the Western Conference powers played a tense, emotional game that saw bodies flying, emotions overheating, Tim Duncan getting ejected and Dallas ending San Antonio's six-game winning streak.

The loss -- only the second in the Spurs' past 14 games -- locks them into the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

• Bulls 101, Wizards 68 -- At Washington, Ben Gordon scored 30 points and Chicago held Washington to 34 percent shooting as the Bulls beat the Wizards for their third consecutive victory.

Chicago is trying to lock down the No. 2 seed in the East, while Washington is hoping to hold on to No. 6.

• 76ers 102, Pistons 91 -- At Auburn Hills, Mich., Willie Green scored 26 points in his hometown to lead Philadelphia past Detroit.

The 76ers were missing several regulars, as Kyle Korver (wrist), Andre Iguodala (back) and Kevin Ollie (eye) stayed home, while the Pistons gave their key players a light workload. Chris Webber was the only Pistons starter to play more than 23 minutes.