CHICAGO – LeBron James delivered jaw-dropping dunks and precise jumpers. He couldn’t deliver a victory, though.

While James tied his team record by scoring 24 of his 34 points in the first quarter, Luol Deng finished with 21 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 100-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

Tyrus Thomas added 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Joakim Noah chipped in 17 and 11 for Chicago.

The Cavaliers are trying to lock down the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but they stumbled against a team that can only hope for a little lottery luck. With a two-game lead over Washington in the Eastern Conference when the night began, Cleveland saw an eight-point lead after the first quarter turn into a 53-47 halftime deficit.

Chicago led 68-62 before Deng buried a 3-pointer midway through the third, sending the Bulls on a run that extended their lead to 82-65 heading into the fourth. Along the way, Noah delivered two thunderous dunks over Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Thomas added one that drew a primal roar from him and the crowd, and the Bulls hung on in the fourth.

Pacers 85, 76ers 76

PHILADELPHIA – Danny Granger had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers kept their slim Eastern Conference playoff hopes alive with an 85-76 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

Indiana won its fourth straight, and entered Friday trailing No. 8 Atlanta, which played New York, by two games in the race for the final playoff berth. The Pacers have three games to go, and even though they hold the tiebreaker against the Hawks, they still likely need to win their final three games to have a chance at the postseason.

Philadelphia dropped into a tie for the No. 6 seed in the conference with Toronto, which beat New Jersey, following one of its worst shooting performance of the season.

Raptors 113, Nets 85

TORONTO – Carlos Delfino scored 24 points, Chris Bosh had 21 and the Toronto Raptors eliminated the New Jersey Nets from playoff contention with a 113-85 victory Friday night.

Vince Carter had 21 points and Devin Harris added 19 for the Nets, who last missed the playoffs in 2001 season.

Philadelphia’s 85-76 loss to Indiana moved the Raptors moved back into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining.

T.J. Ford and Andrea Bargnani each had 14 as the Raptors rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second quarter to beat the Nets for the third time in four games this season. Toronto has won consecutive games after losing four of five.

Delfino spurred the Raptors with 14 points in the second quarter and finished 6-for-8 from beyond the 3-point line.

Hawks 116, Knicks 104

NEW YORK – Joe Johnson kept the Atlanta Hawks in control of the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, scoring 34 points Friday night in a 116-104 victory over the New York Knicks.

Trying to end the NBA’s longest postseason drought, the Hawks remained two games ahead of the Indiana Pacers with three to play for each team. Atlanta trimmed its magic number to two for its first playoff berth since 1999.

Josh Smith and Mike Bibby added 24 points apiece for the Hawks, who won all four meetings with the Knicks this season, sweeping the series for the first time since moving to Atlanta for the 1968-69 season. Al Horford finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Grizzlies 96, Heat 91

MIAMI – Hakim Warrick and Kyle Lowry each scored 17 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat Miami 96-91 Friday night to ensure that the Heat will finish with the league’s worst record.

With the NBA’s worst record (14-65), the Heat will have the best chance to win the draft lottery held on May 20.

Mike Conley and Juan Carlos Navarro scored 15 points apiece as the Grizzlies shot 42 percent from the floor (33-of-78) while holding the Heat to 38 percent shooting (33-of-88).

Rockets 101, Suns 90

HOUSTON – Tracy McGrady had 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Luis Scola added 19 points as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 101-90 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Spurs 95, Sonics 74

SAN ANTONIO – Tony Parker scored 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs easily handled the Seattle SuperSonics, 95-74, Friday night.

Wolves 102, Magic 101

ORLANDO, Fla. – Ryan Gomes made a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Minnesota Timberwolves a 102-101 victory over the playoff-bound Orlando Magic on Friday night.

Randy Foye had a game-high 25 points and Rashad McCants added 19 to lead the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak.

Pistons 102, Wizards 74

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Jason Maxiell scored a career-high 28 points and Chauncey Billups added 13 as the Detroit Pistons ended a short slump with a 102-74 rout of the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Detroit, which has clinched the Eastern Conference’s second seed, had played poorly in back-to-back losses to New York and Philadelphia, but appeared to regain its focus against Washington.

The loss cost the Wizards a chance to better their playoff position, as both Cleveland and Philadelphia also lost.

The Wizards are two games behind Cleveland for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and one game ahead of Philadelphia in the race for the fifth seed.

Richard Hamilton was the only Piston starter to play more than 24 minutes, but the Detroit reserves were more than a match for the lethargic Wizards, scoring 52 points.

Antwan Jamison led Washington with 15 and DeShawn Stevenson added 11.

Once again, the Pistons didn’t give their starters a lot of work in the first half, but still did enough to take a 47-42 lead at the the break. Detroit’s regulars were back at the start of the third quarter, and they began the period with a 12-2 run to move the margin to 15.

By quarter’s end, the lead was 81-55, and Detroit’s slump was no longer a concern. Amir Johnson capped the blowout with a pair of spectacular dunks in the final minute.

Notes: Hamilton, who had missed eight of Detroit’s previous nine games to rest a sore hip, had nine points and matched a season high with 10 assists. … Alexis Hornbuckle and Tasha Humphrey, the Detroit Shock’s two first-round picks in Wednesday’s WNBA draft, attended the game. … John Hammond, Pistons president Joe Dumars’ long-time top assistant, accepted the Milwaukee Bucks’ GM job. … Gilbert Arenas scored 10 points in his fourth game after missing most of the season after knee surgery.

AP-ES-04-11-08 2237EDT