Thanks to Utah, Spurs’ magic number down 2

Hours after the Spurs polished off a 97-90 win over Atlanta on Tuesday night, the Utah Jazz provided them more good news on the opposite coast.

Thanks to Utah’s 86-85 victory over the Lakers at Staples Center, the Spurs are now 3 1/2 games up on Los Angeles with four to play, their magic number to clinch the Western Conference’s top seed winnowed to two games. Without any further assistance from the Lakers, the Spurs could sew things up on their upcoming homestand that begins Wednesday against Sacramento and concludes Saturday against the same Jazz who just won in Los Angeles.

Neither opponent is in playoff contention, but as the Jazz proved Tuesday, sometimes teams with nothing to play for play like there’s nothing to lose.

Asked after beating Atlanta about the importance of securing the No. 1 seed, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shrugged.

“Everybody talks about it every year,” he said. “We’ve had it and won and had it and lost. The team best usually ends up winning.”

Still, the Spurs certainly won’t turn down home-court advantage through the Western Conference bracket, or the the prospect of avoiding both the Lakers and Mavericks until at least the conference finals.

As recently as Sunday, as the Spurs’ lead in the conference dipped to just 1 1/2 games over the Lakers, it appeared certain Kobe Bryant and Co. would overtake them. A scheduled April 12 visit to the Staples Center loomed large.

Now, the Spurs have a chance to wrap up seeding by the end of the week, which would allow Popovich to rest any players who need it on the season-ending trip to Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Bynum suspended for two games after flagrant foul two

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without starting center Andrew Bynum for the next two games after he was  by the NBA after a flagrant foul two committed Friday night against Minnesota.

Bynum received the technical after a late in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 106-98 victory. Bynum was ejected from the game after the foul.

Bynum will miss Sunday’s game against Portland and Tuesday’s game against Phoenix.

His absence can’t help as the Lakers try to keep pace with the Spurs and stay ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference.

What about it Spurs Nation? Does the punishment for Bynum fit his misdeed?

“The Heatles” finally make return appearance

Chris Bosh had been insistent he wanted the ball more inside shots.

He Miami teammates listened to him Thursday night.

Bosh erupted for 24 points — his biggest scoring effort since Feb. 16 and one of his top nine games this season — to lead the Heat’s 94-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. 

It couldn’t have come at a better time for the slumping Heat, which had dropped five straight games coming into Thursday’s game.  

“We had everything riding on this game, really, to be honest with you,” Bosh told the Associated Press.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bosh’s big game was the most by an opposing forward or center this season in a non-overtime game in which both Lakers’ big men, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol both played more than 30 minutes.

The game snapped the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak as the Heat scored the final six points of the game after Kobe Bryant’s 3-pointer tied  the game with 2:26 left.

Bryant was clearly frustrated at the end of the game. And with the Lakers remaining in Miami Thursday night, he spent more than an hour after the game working on his shooting touch as his team prepares for a big game at Dallas Saturday night. 

Here’s a look at those who had big games and others who struggled Thursday night across the association.

STUDS

Miami F Chris Bosh: Notched 24 points and nine rebounds in the Heat’s 94-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, snapping their five-game losing streak.

Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki: Scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds and was a team-best plus-20 in the Mavericks’ 127-109 triumph over New York.

Denver C Nene: Tallied 22 points, seven rebounds and was plus-22 in the Nuggets’ resounding 116-97 victory at Phoenix.

Dallas F Shawn Marion: Made the most  of a rare start, producing totals of 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a plus-11 in the Mavericks’ triumph over the Knicks.

Dallas G Jason Terry: Hit 9-for-15 from the field and was plus-9 in a 21-point effort against the Knicks.

Denver G Ty Lawson: Notched 20 points, 11 rebounds, four steals  and was plus-22 in the Nuggets’ victory over Phoenix.

Miami G Dwyane Wade: Produced 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in the Heat’s victory over the Lakers.

Miami F LeBron James: Tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and was plus-8 in the Heat’s streak-busting win over the  Lakers.

New York F Amar’e Stoudemire: Scored a game-high 36 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Knicks’ loss to Dallas.

Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant: Scored a team-high 24 points in the Lakers’ loss to the Heat.

Phoenix C Marcin Gortat: Produced 14 points, a career-high 18 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in the Suns’ home loss to Denver.  

DUDS

Phoenix G Vince Carter: Clanked through a 2-for-11 shooting effort, including missing all five 3-pointers, in the Suns’ loss to Denver.

The Phoenix Suns: Clanked through a 41.1 shooting night with 19 turnovers in a critical loss to their playoff hopes, dropping 1½ games behind Memphis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles Lakers F Lamar Odom: Went 4-for-11 from the field and was minus-14 in the Lakers’ loss at Miami — snapping an eight-game winning streak.

New York F Carmelo Anthony: Struggled through a 5-for-15 shooting night and was minus-11 in the Knicks’ loss at Dallas.