Jimmy Butler has scored 33 points and hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 106-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the top-billed of five NBA fixtures on Saturday.
Butler scored the Bulls' final nine points, while his free throws gave them a two-point lead and capped a 15-4 run.
Tim Hardaway Jr then missed a 3-pointer for Atlanta as time expired.
The Bulls third straight win leaves them tied with Miami and Indiana for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The sixth-place Hawks, who'd won two straight after dropping seven in a row, trail Milwaukee by a game.
Rajon Rondo had a season-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds. Denzel Valentine scored 13 as the Bulls stopped a seven-game losing streak to Atlanta.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 29 points while Hardaway scored 20.
In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin scored 36 and Chris Paul added 29 as the Clippers beat the Lakers 115-104, giving coach Doc Rivers his 800th career victory.
J.J. Redick added 19 for the Clippers, who moved within a game of the idle Jazz for the No. 4 playoff seed in the West. They've won three in a row and seven of nine.
Rookie David Nwaba scored 19 points and Brandon Ingram had 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter for the Lakers.
They have lost 18 of 20 since the All-Star break.
Damian Lillard scored 31 points as Portland continued their late-season push for the playoffs with a sixth straight victory, beating Phoenix 130-117.
CJ McCollum added 29 for the home side, who hold the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
The Blazers (38-38) led by as many as 25 and got back to .500 for the first time since they were 12-12 on December 9.
Devin Booker had 31 for the Suns, who lost their 11th straight for the fifth-longest losing streak in franchise history. They are just ahead of the Lakers at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Brook Lopez scored 30 points and Trevor Booker had a season-high 23 as Brooklyn beat Orlando 121-111 in New York.
Sean Kilpatrick added 15 points for the Nets, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Brooklyn had a season-high 72 points in the paint.
In Minneapolis, Buddy Hield tied a career high with 22 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range, as Sacramento got 66 points from its bench in a 123-117 victory over Minnesota.
