Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Instant karma's going to get you. It certainly got the Miami Heat as it dropped an 89-88 decision to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. The Heat was well on its way to victory when its offense shut down in the fourth quarter, making just 3 of 14 shots and scoring a total of nine points. "I mean sometimes the momentum turns in a game like that, and it's the karma of the game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They really started to impose their will on the game with their pressure and really forcing us into some tough possessions. That sometimes is how this game works. Things start to avalanche from there, and it did." The Heat was swept by the Bucks, 4-0, in the season series, the first time that has happened since the 1990-'91 season. Dwyane Wade had two of the Heat's three baskets in the fourth quarter and led his team with 21 points while playing 31 minutes. "Everything that could go wrong went wrong," Wade said of the finish and Khris Middleton's winning three-pointer at the buzzer. "That's got to be the perfect storm. Everything went exactly as planned for them."

Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Heat center Hassan Whiteside is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game against the Boston Celtics. Whiteside missed the second half of Tuesday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks due to a laceration between his right middle and ring finger. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to play," Whiteside said. "We're going to see how it feels day-to-day, just see how long the stitches are in." Whiteside, who had seven points and eight rebounds, sustained the injury at the 5:41 mark of the second quarter. It occurred when he was trying to block a dunk attempt by Bucks forward Miles Plumlee. He received 10 stitches and wore a protective bandage over his hand after the game. He was also given a pain-killing shot in the training room. "I can't feel my hand right now," Whiteside said.

Terry Foster of The Detroit News: The good word comes down on an almost daily basis. It is a simple message from Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy to his guards Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Attack! Attack! Attack! Push the ball up the floor. Attack the rim and be as aggressive as possible. Mission accomplished again. The Pistons (27-44) won their thirdstraight game against a team playing for something, playoffs-wise. The victim Tuesday night was the Toronto Raptors, who nearly pulled it off after erasing an 18-point lead but again fell, 108-104, to the hot Pistons. The only clunker during this stretch was a loss to Philadelphia, which is not playing for anything. Caldwell-Pope (26 points, six rebounds and four assists) and Jackson (28 points and nine assists) combined for 54 points. That is because they attacked. "He (Van Gundy) is making it easy," Jackson said. "He is always saying attack and always be in attack mode. He said be aggressive and look for shots and the game will play out how it should be played. If the pass (is open) I will make the pass. I will also attack and look for my teammates, as well." ... The Pistons have scored 100 or more points in four of five games since Greg Monroe was sidelined with a right knee injury. But it was a small number that impressed him the most. Zero turnovers for aggressive Caldwell-Pope and Jackson.

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star: Injured all-star point guard Kyle Lowry was a game-time decision for the Raptors, having missed two previous contests with back spasms. That he manned up and started at the point on Tuesday at the Palace was admirable, but with 10:37 left in the second quarter, Lowry exited with a recurrence of his back issues, gone for the night. But the Lowry injury wasn’t the reason the Raptors lost 108-104 by the already-eliminated Pistons. There are bigger concerns. On a night that should have been cause for major celebration in the land of the Raptors, with thousands of Canadian fans once again invading The Palace, the Pistons stood their ground, postponing the clinching of a second straight playoff spot. Understandably, Raptors coach Dwane Casey was remarkably subdued about the thought of a seventh post-season berth in team history. ... The problem for the Raptors is, even if they clinch the Atlantic Division on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls at the ACC, or whenever it surely happens, it won’t have very much meaning. All the division title will mean is a nice banner to hang in the rafters next year.

Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: It didn’t take Monta Ellis very long to rebound from his worst shooting performance of the season. One game after making just 4-of-22 baskets while scoring only 11 points Sunday in a road loss to the Phoenix Suns, Ellis regrouped and poured in a season-high tying 38 points Tuesday during the Dallas Mavericks’ crucial 101-94 victory over the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center. Ellis converted 16-of-27 shots and also contributed five assists and two steals. But afterwards he refused to admit he was the catalyst behind a win which improved the Mavs’ record to 45-27. "It was a total team effort," Ellis said. "I was just taking what the defense gave me. Everybody was juiced up and we came out playing very aggressive." Ellis was so aggressive that he scored seven of the Mavs’ first nine points and already had 28 points after three quarters. The 10-year veteran was in attack mode all night and the Spurs had no defense that could contain him.

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: The Spurs were ahead by 14 points early in the second quarter, seemingly preparing to cruise toward a fourth consecutive victory. Monta Ellis and the Dallas Mavericks would have none of that. The maligned Dallas guard rang up 38 points, as the Mavericks rallied to hand the Spurs a 101-94 defeat Tuesday at American Airlines Center. A game after going 4-for-22 in a loss to Phoenix, Ellis helped Dallas end the Spurs’ three-game winning streak, going 16 for 27 to spark a spurt in which the Mavericks outscored the Spurs by 31 points. It was the second time this season Ellis notched 38 against the Spurs. “We started out well,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “After that, it was a Mr. Ellis Show. We didn’t contain him, and he really went off.” Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points with nine rebounds and four steals for the Spurs, who were outscored 59-37 combined in the second and third quarters. The Spurs ended with the same number of assists as turnovers (16). “We just went cold,” Tim Duncan said. “There’s no two ways about it.” With the loss, the Spurs remained in sixth place in the Western Conference, percentage points ahead of Dallas. The Spurs face eighth-place Oklahoma City on Wednesday at the AT&T Center, with a rematch with the Mavericks looming Friday in San Antonio.

Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Dion Waiters is wide and sturdy for a shooting guard, typically holding the strength advantage in almost all his matchups. It helps him bull through minor contact on the perimeter and deftly slide into the lane on a relatively consistent basis. But for most of this season, Waiters has struggled mightily to finish once in the paint. Often, he’d seem to exaggerate what he felt was foul-worthy contact, loudly belting ‘And-1’ toward the referees mid-shot, even when it had no chance of converting and the whistle wasn’t blown. Waiters said he’s done with that. “I ain’t worried about contact no more,” Waiters said. “I’m either gonna get it or I’m not gonna get it.” Entering Tuesday, Waiters was shooting 47.3 percent at the rim, far below the league average. It’s been a major problem. Listen to him tell it, though, and he’s found the solution. But the quirky Waiters has a track record of being a bit unpredictable on the court. So only time will tell. But his recent play is encouraging and, with the team’s injury situation what it is, Waiters’ improved efficiency is much needed.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: The already forgettable Lakers season took another bizarre turn to nowhere when Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill sat on the bench an entire game. Boozer then said he was told by Coach Byron Scott he'd be sitting out "four or five games" so the Lakers could evaluate their young big men. Tanks a lot? Boozer is a free agent in July and essentially playing for his next contract but isn't upset about the benching, at least publicly. "Byron came and talked to us, me and J-Hill, before the road trip so we knew," Boozer said. "He said he wanted to take a good look at the rest of the young guys … so me and J-Hill are, I guess, just resting for the next four or five games. It makes sense for the future, trying to figure out and evaluate what guys you want to bring back in the future and give guys an opportunity to play and shine."

Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: Omri Casspi feels a different vibe. He sees glimpses of a promising future. He has been encouraged enough during the opening weeks of the George Karl Era to say unequivocally that he wants to re-sign with the Kings when his contract expires at the end of the season. ... Auditions are ongoing. Karl is continuing to experiment. Vlade Divac is watching intently and studying everything, including locker room dynamics. “I want to come back here so badly,” Casspi, a first-round draft pick by the Kings in 2009, said. “I love the community and I feel like the team is finally moving in the right direction. George Karl’s system is great, and I’m not just saying that because I play for him, but because I really do believe this is the right way to play basketball. Spacing the floor. Moving, making extra passes, sharing the ball. Getting our hands on balls, deflections, then getting out and running. Unfortunately, coach Karl has not had a lot of time to teach us everything, but these last two games, you can see what we can become.”

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News: After a few games when his pregame routine wasn't quite as strenuous as it had been, Joel Embiid was back to getting in his normal work before last night's game. He was with Brett Brown before the game, working on his post moves and outside jump shot. Sunday in Los Angeles at the team's morning shootaround, Embiid shed his shirt and showed a very toned upper body. "He's ticking boxes in regards to increased time on the court, into reduced weight - his body weight is going down," Brown said. "It's a good sign that you're feeling pretty good about yourself. How about that, you see him drenched in sweat, he takes his shirt off. All fantastic signs that his needle is pointing in the right direction. We're trying to set the stage for a great summer. He sees that his reward will be summer league and trying to get ready for playing basketball again. He's most definitely heading in the right direction."

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: With the Trail Blazers missing three-fifths of their starting lineup, including All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, it should have been easy for the Warriors. But nothing comes easy when you’re trying to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in 39 years. The Warriors overcame a sluggish start and a 12-point, second-quarter deficit to clinch the franchise’s first division title since 1976 with a 122-108 victory over Portland in a nationally televised game Tuesday night at the Moda Center. “It’s a big deal for us,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “If you haven’t done something for that long, it should be a big deal.” Just as when they became the first Western Conference team to secure a playoff berth last week, there was little on-court celebration by the Warriors. The players were given gold T-shirts that read: “PACIFIC CLAIMED,” and they huddled for a team photo in the locker room.

Sean Meagher of The Oregonian: There was no LaMarcus Aldridge, no Nicolas Batum, no Chris Kaman and too much Stephen Curry for the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night at the Moda Center. Curry scored a game-high 33 points and dished out 10 assists as the Golden State Warriors won their seventh straight, clinching the Pacific Division title while handing Portland its fifth consecutive loss, 122-108. The shorthanded Blazers had just 10 available players and rolled out their 16th different starting lineup of the season after using just two all of last year. Head coach Terry Stotts elected to go with Damian Lillard, Arron Afflalo, Alonzo Gee (in place of Batum), Dorell Wright (in place of Aldridge) and Robin Lopez, a combination that paid off early. The undermanned Blazers, fueled by an energetic Moda Center crowd watching the home team in person for the first time in 11 days, took the fight to the Warriors early, going blow-for-blow for two quarters. "I thought we gave a good effort tonight," Stotts said.