NBA Scores & More: LeBron James Makes MVP Case As Heat Beat Bulls, Rockets Lose Again

James scored 27 points on 8-18 shooting with 10-12 free throws while pulling in 11 rebounds, six assists against a single turnover in 35 minutes on the court. LeBron got the Heat going early by registering 15 of his points in the first quarter.

Deng’s struggles mirrored his team as a whole as the Bulls, who made 11 of 19 shots in the first quarter, made 14 if 51 shots after the opening quarter (27 percent). As the numbers show, it wasn’t just Deng, it was a Chicago epidemic.

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Milwaukee actually went on a bit of a run after that, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Indiana.

The Pacers’ win was their seventh straight and, though they can still fall as low as the fifth seed, guaranteed them home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks, in defeat, fell to 29-33 and lost any potential of overtaking seventh-seeded New York. Their only hope of making the playoffs now is to catch Philadelphia and get in as an eighth seed.

Meanwhile, the Rockets are ostensibly in the race for the eighth seed, but another defeat pushed their season-high losing streak to six games. Houston’s odds of making the playoffs were down to just 14.7 percent before the letdown in New Orleans according to John Hollinger’s Playoff Odds, so be sure to keep your ears open for the somber serenade of the proverbial Fat Lady.

The Rockets pushed their own back against the wall with some frustrating second-half collapses during the past week, and in a must-win against Hornets that disturbing trend of back-loading bad basketball continued. In the first half, Houston used hot outside shooting (7-12 on three-pointers), good ball movement (17 assists) and wise decision making (4 turnovers) to jump out to an eight-point lead at intermission.