Sam Hauser had 24 points on eight 3-pointers, and the Boston Celtics tied the franchise and NBA record with 29 3s on their way to clinching the Eastern Conference's No. 2 playoff seed with a 144-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

With a playoff spot locked up, the Utah Mammoth will look to extend their winning streak to six when they wrap up a three-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon.

The Detroit Pistons have returned to prominence, clinching the Eastern Conference title and a playoff spot after years of adversity.

The Avalanche remain Stanley Cup favorites while the Tampa Bay Lightning draw volume to win the Eastern Conference.

The Detroit Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 116-93 on Saturday night to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the 20

Ahead of Thursday’s NHL slate, Detroit trailed the Ottawa Senators by three points for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot. The Red Wings will need some outside help down the stretch to make up ground on the Senators, but Shine and the rest of the group know they must take care of their own business first.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the topic of the Boston Celtics’ stranglehold on the Eastern Conference came up on Wednesday’s episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo and Brian Windhorst erupted into the kind of debate that makes you want to pull up a chair and grab some popcorn.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points and the Rockets extended their winning streak to eight games with a 113-102 win Thursday night over the 76ers, who were missing Joel Embiid after he had an appendectomy.