LeBron James' fading playoff hopes were dealt a serious blow as the Los Angeles Clippers handed the Los Angeles Lakers a third straight defeat.

Monday night's scores Los Angeles Clippers 113-105 Los Angeles Lakers

Milwaukee Bucks 105-114 Phoenix Suns

New Orleans Pelicans 115-112 Utah Jazz

Denver Nuggets 103-104 San Antonio Spurs

Atlanta Hawks 113-114 Miami Heat

New York Knicks 108-115 Sacramento Kings

Dallas Mavericks 88-127 Brooklyn Nets

Los Angeles Clippers 113-105 Los Angeles Lakers

1:40 Highlights of the LA Clippers' clash with the LA Lakers in Week 21 of the NBA

Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 113-105 on Monday night for their third consecutive victory.

Lou Williams scored 21 points off the bench, and Montrezl Harrell added 14 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role for the Clippers, who moved back into sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Utah Jazz and a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also scored 14 points, and Patrick Beverley added 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals for the Clippers. Landry Shamet had 12 points.

Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 24 points to go with 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his first triple-double with the Lakers. LeBron James finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Josh Hart scored 17 off the bench.

Image: James absorbs contact in the paint against the Los Angeles Clippers

Brandon Ingram, third on the Lakers in scoring at 18.3 points, missed the game because of a sore right shoulder. Second-leading scorer Kyle Kuzma (18.9 points per game) scored 13 before leaving midway through the fourth quarter due to an injured right ankle.

The 10th-place Lakers, who have lost five of their past six, are five-and-a-half games behind the final Western Conference playoff spot.

The Lakers took an 82-79 lead on a three-point play by Hart with 2:55 left in the third quarter, but the Clippers came back with a 10-0 run to take their biggest lead to that point at 89-82 with 40.6 seconds left in the third.

The Clippers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take their first double-digit lead. The Lakers got as close as five with 7:57 left, but the Clippers scored the next eight points during a run in which Kuzma was also injured.

Milwaukee Bucks 105-114 Phoenix Suns

1:17 Highlight of the Milwaukee Bucks' trip to the Phoenix Suns in Week 21 of the NBA

Kelly Oubre Jr recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots and Devin Booker scored 22 points as the lowly Phoenix Suns pulled off a stunning 114-105 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.

Deandre Ayton registered 19 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Josh Jackson scored 16 for Phoenix (14-51). The Suns have won three of their last four games since enduring a franchise-worst 17-game losing streak.

Tyler Johnson had 13 points and four steals and also knocked down the tie-breaking basket for the Suns, who outscored Milwaukee 38-23 in the fourth quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals for the NBA-best Bucks (48-16). Milwaukee have lost two straight after winning 19 of the previous 21 games.

Image: DeAndre Ayton celebrates during Phoenix's shock win over the Milwaukee

Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points, Eric Bledsoe added 15, Nikola Mirotic had 13, Ersan Ilyasova tallied 11 and Brook Lopez and Tony Snell added 10 apiece for Milwaukee. Recently signed Pau Gasol played five scoreless minutes in his Bucks debut.

Johnson's basket with 1:06 left gave Phoenix a 105-103 lead. Ayton scored on a lay-up with 35.8 seconds remaining to make it a four-point margin. Mikal Bridges sank two free throws with 24.1 seconds left to increase the lead to 109-103, and Milwaukee was unable to get closer to four the rest of the way.

New Orleans Pelicans 115-112 Utah Jazz

1:57 Highlights of the New Orleans Pelicans' clash with the Utah Jazz in Week 21 of the NBA

Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle each scored 30 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 115-112 victory over the host Utah Jazz.

Anthony Davis posted 15 points and 11 rebounds in only three quarters for the Pelicans. Davis did not play the entire fourth quarter but New Orleans still won their third straight game after scoring 21 points off 18 Utah turnovers.

Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver recorded points apiece off the bench to lead Utah. Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and collected 19 rebounds and Donovan Mitchell added 19 points with nine assists.

Image: Jrue Holiday fires a jump shot against Utah

Utah rallied from a six-point deficit and took a 112-111 lead on a lay-up from Mitchell with 43.9 seconds left.

Elfrid Payton answered with a lay-up on the other end and Randle hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining to close out a comeback win for New Orleans.

Denver Nuggets 103-104 San Antonio Spurs

2:17 Highlights of the Denver Nuggets' clash with the San Antonio Spurs in Week 21 of the NBA

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 as the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the visiting Denver Nuggets 104-103 to capture their third straight victory.

San Antonio led by 21 points in the second quarter and by 17 with 9:10 to go in the game, but Denver got within four points with 1:41 to play on a Will Barton three-pointer.

Jamal Murray then canned a three-pointer with 49.6 seconds left to cut the Spurs' lead to 104-103. DeRozan missed a driving lay-up with 29.3 seconds to play before Murray missed a three-point try with 16.2 to play. The ball was knocked out of bounds off a Spurs player, giving the Nuggets a chance to win.

Image: DeMar DeRozan finishes at the rim against Denver

Murray missed again with 8.4 seconds to go, but the rebound bounced off the leg of San Antonio's Rudy Gay, allowing the Nuggets a third opportunity for victory. This time, the Spurs forced a turnover and Gay was fouled, but he missed both of the ensuing free throws, granting Denver a fourth opportunity at the victory.

Gary Harris missed a jumper at the buzzer, and the Spurs escaped with the win.

Gay hit for 14 points, and Derrick White tallied 11 for San Antonio, who have won seven in a row at home.

Murray led the Nuggets with 25 points, and Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, who have lost three games in a row. Malik Beasley added 15 points, Will Barton had 12, and Paul Millsap grabbed 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Atlanta Hawks 113-114 Miami Heat

1:35 Highlights of the Atlanta Hawks' clash with the Miami Heat in Week 21 of the NBA

Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the host Miami Heat won consecutive games for the first time since January, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 114-113.

Josh Richardson added 19 points, and Justise Winslow added 18 for Miami, who finally beat Atlanta after losing the first three games of this season's four-game series. Atlanta fell just short of what would have been its first 4-0 sweep of Miami since 1990-91.

Forty-two-year-old Vince Carter led Atlanta with 21 points and made a season-high seven three-pointers. Carter surpassed Jamal Crawford for sixth place on the NBA career three-pointers list and surpassed Reggie Miller for 20th place in scoring.

Meanwhile, Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young was held to 13 points, including just three in the second half. Young had a three-game spurt last week in which he averaged 40.3 points.

Image: Dwyane Wade scores at the rim against Atlanta

With the win and 19 games left in their regular season, the Heat moved into a virtual tie with the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Miami missed all seven of their three-pointers in the third quarter and the teams were tied at 85 heading into the fourth. From there, it was Wade who did the most damage as Miami held off Atlanta.

New York Knicks 108-115 Sacramento Kings

1:16 Highlights of the New York Knicks' visit to the Sacramento Kings in Week 21 of the NBA

Harry Giles III contributed a dunk and a hook shot to an eight-point run that opened the fourth quarter and the host Sacramento Kings finally were able to pull away from the stubborn New York Knicks for a 115-108 victory.

Buddy Hield had 28 points and Harrison Barnes contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who had lost three in a row, including two straight to begin a key four-game homestand.

New York's Allonzo Trier led all scorers with 29 points.

Image: Buddy Hield drives to the basket against the New York Knicks

The Kings led just 86-80 before Giles' consecutive hoops to begin the fourth quarter opened a 10-point margin. When Nemanja Bjelica added a tip and Corey Brewer a pair of free throws, all of a sudden, Sacramento had their biggest lead of the game at 94-80.

Consecutive hoops by Trier got the Knicks back within 100-92 with still 6:33 to play, but Hield countered with a dunk and a three-pointer, helping the Kings hold New York at arm's length the rest of the way.

Dallas Mavericks 88-127 Brooklyn Nets

1:21 Highlights of the Dallas Mavericks' trip to the Brooklyn Nets in Week 21 of the NBA

Reserve DeMarre Carroll matched a season-high with 22 points as the Brooklyn Nets took control late in the first quarter and coasted to a 127-88 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks.

Rookie Rodions Kurucs added 19 points and became the third rookie in franchise history to hit at least five three-pointers. Caris LeVert was moved to the bench and added 18 while Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 16 in his third game back from a right thumb injury.

D'Angelo Russell collected 13 points and 11 assists while Joe Harris chipped in 11 points as the Nets posted their most lopsided win since moving from New Jersey in 2012.

Image: Luka Doncic fires from long distance against Brooklyn

Dwight Powell paced Dallas with 20 points and rookie Luca Doncic added 16. Doncic shot 6-of-16 and Dallas shot 35.6 per cent en route to their eighth loss in nine games and their most lopsided defeat of the season.

Dirk Nowitzki heard loud cheers in pregame introductions and each time he touched the ball in possibly his final game in Brooklyn. He missed his first nine shots and finished with four points on 2-for-13 shooting.

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