BOSTON (AP) - Bradley Beal scored 27 points and Washington clinched the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 118-102 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
The Wizards will be facing Chicago in their first playoff appearance since 2008.
Trevor Booker scored 20 points, Marcin Gortat had 15 with 10 rebounds, and John Wall 15 points for Washington, which finished the regular season 44-38. It’s the most wins for the franchise since 45 in 2004-05.
The Wizards jumped over Brooklyn and into fifth place after the Nets lost in Cleveland.
Boston sat injured guards Rajon Rondo and Jerryd Bayless, and injured forwards Kris Humphries and Jared Sullinger, finishing with a 25-57 record. It was the club’s worst since going 24-58 in 2006-07, the year before acquiring Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and winning its 17th NBA title.
CAVALIERS 114, NETS 85
CLEVELAND (AP) - Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd sat his starters for the playoffs and the Nets closed the regular season with a loss that dropped them to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Although the Nets could have clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 spot with a win, Kidd elected to rest Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston, who spent the night on the bench as the world’s highest-paid cheerleading squad. Kidd also limited the minutes of key reserves and used only seven players.
Tyler Zeller scored 22 points with 11 rebounds and Dion Waiters scored 19 for the Cavaliers, who finished a disappointing 33-49 in coach Mike Brown’s first season back and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. All-Star Kyrie Irving scored 15.
KNICKS 95, RAPTORS 92
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Knicks finished their disappointing season with a victory and Toronto blew a 21-point lead but earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Toronto will host the Brooklyn Nets, who fell to the No. 6 seed, in its playoff opener Saturday.
Cole Aldrich made the tiebreaking dunk with 1:23 left for the Knicks, who won their final four games to finish 37-45. J.R. Smith scored 30 points, while Aldrich finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry scored 22 points in 26 minutes for the Raptors, who finished 48-34.
BOBCATS 91, BULLS 86, OT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Kemba Walker scored eight of his 22 points in overtime to help Charlotte defeat Chicago.
Al Jefferson added 10 points and 18 rebounds for Charlotte, and Chris Douglas-Roberts finished with 13 points after being held scoreless for the first three quarters.
Josh McRoberts made a key play in overtime, blocking D.J. Augustin’s 3-point attempt. Walker grabbed the loose ball and raced the length of the court for a layup that gave the Bobcats an 88-81 lead with 1 minute left.
Joakim Noah finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, Carlos Boozer added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Augustin scored 17 points
PACERS 101, MAGIC 86
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Rasual Butler and Chris Copeland each scored 19 points as Indiana rested key players and still cruised.
The Eastern Conference’s top seed ended the season winning three of four to shake off a nasty late-season slump. The Pacers will open the playoffs against eighth-seed Atlanta.
Indiana held out Paul George, Lance Stephenson and David West against the Magic. Also getting the night off was reserve Ian Mahinmi.
Maurice Harkless led the Magic with 14 points, and E’Twaun Moore added 13.
Orlando ended the season losing 16 of their last 20, with the fifth-worst record in franchise history.
76ERS 100, HEAT 87
MIAMI (AP) - Thaddeus Young scored 20 points, Michael Carter-Williams had 12 in the final game of his impressive rookie campaign for Philadelphia.
It was Philadelphia’s second win of the season over the two-time defending NBA champions, though Miami was that in name only Wednesday. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen were held out to rest for the playoffs, which for the Heat begin on Sunday at home against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Brandon Davies had 11 points, while Henry Sims, James Anderson and Casper Ware each scored 10 for the 76ers (19-63).
Dwyane Wade scored 16 points in 23 minutes for Miami (54-28), which got 13 from Toney Douglas and 11 from Ray Allen.
HAWKS 111, BUCKS 103
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Mike Scott scored 17 points and the Atlanta Hawks ended the regular season with a 111-103 win Wednesday over the Bucks, hours after Milwaukee owner Herb Kohl announced he was selling his team.
Dennis Schroder added 15 for the Hawks, who rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half.
Atlanta is locked into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round date with the Indiana Pacers. Scott started for forward Paul Millsap, who was rested to get ready for the postseason.
Brandon Knight scored 31 points to lead the Bucks, who finished an NBA-worst 15-67.
Milwaukee’s dismal season is over, though there is more certainty about the team’s future after the prospective new owners said they wanted to build a new arena in Milwaukee.
GRIZZLIES 106, MAVERICKS 105, OT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Mike Conley hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds left in overtime, and Memphis grabbed the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed away from Dallas.
Monta Ellis missed a 17-footer before Conley drew the foul driving to the basket. Dallas had one last shot, but Ellis missed from the top of the key.
Memphis became the seventh team in the West with 50 wins this season. The Grizzlies, who set a franchise record with a 14th straight home win in a single season, will open the postseason Saturday at Oklahoma City.
Avoiding No. 1 seed San Antonio in the first round was the only thing on the line, and Memphis has lost 14 of its last 16 against the Spurs with the Mavericks losing nine straight.
THUNDERS 112, PISTONS 111
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant scored 42 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma City secured the No. 2 playoff seed in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City (59-23) had lost two straight to put itself in the must-win situation in the regular-season finale to earn the No. 2 seed. Durant brought the Thunder back while recording his 14th 40-point game of the season.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 30 points for the Pistons (29-53), while Greg Monroe had 22, Kyle Singler added 20 and Andre Drummond recorded his ninth straight double-double to end the season for Detroit, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
PELICANS 105, ROCKETS 100
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tyreke Evans had 25 points and 10 assists, and New Orleans closed out a difficult season with a crowd pleasing victory.
It was the second straight victory for the Pelicans, both starring Evans’ relentless hustle and forceful dribble-drives. Evans was nearly held out of the low-stakes games with a bruised right knee, but insisted on playing.
He gave New Orleans the lead for good with a driving layup with 2:35 left, then sealed it with a powerful move in which he wedged his way between Jordan Hamilton and Josh Powell for a running, right-handed hook from the lane.
Austin Rivers added 18 points and Anthony Morrow 15 for the Pelicans, who shot 52.4 percent.
Troy Daniels hit 6 3s and finished with 22 points for playoff-bound Houston, which rested James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin.
LAKERS 113, SPURS 100
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Jordan Hill had 18 points and 14 rebounds and the Lakers closed their worst season since they moved to Los Angeles with a victory over San Antonio.
Nick Young scored 16 points and Kendall Marshall added 15 points to help Los Angeles close the season with a two-game winning streak.
The Lakers (27-55) are expected to look dramatically different next season after finishing with their worst record since moving to Los Angeles.
Kawhi Leonard had 14 points to lead San Antonio, which did not have anyone play more than 27 minutes. The Spurs (62-19) had an opportunity to match their best record, but opted to rest in preparation for defense of their conference title.
JAZZ 136, TIMBERWOLVES 130, 2OT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Trey Burke scored a career-high 32 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds and the Jazz avoided their worst record since moving to Utah 35 years ago.
Gordon Hayward had 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Derrick Favors added 21 points and 12 boards for the Jazz (25-57), who would have tied the worst record since the team relocated in 1979 with a loss. They also snapped a five-game losing streak and won for just the fourth time in their last 25 games.
Kevin Martin scored 36 points for the Timberwolves (40-42), who missed a chance to finish with their first non-losing record since 2005. Kevin Love scored 19 points on 4-for-15 shooting in what could be Rick Adelman’s last game as an NBA coach.
SUNS 104, KINGS 99
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Archie Goodwin scored 12 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter for Phoenix.
The Suns outscored the Kings 33-25 in the fourth quarter to snap a three-game losing streak.
Marcus Morris had 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns. Twin Markieff Morris scored 15 points and Gerald Green 12.
Phoenix played without guard Goran Dragic (sore left ankle), who led the Suns in scoring and assists this season.
Ben McLemore had 31 points and five assists, both career highs, for the Kings, who lost for the sixth time in seven games while playing starters Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas limited minutes.
TRAIL BLAZERS 110, CLIPPERS 104
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Will Barton had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds and Portland beat Los Angeles Clippers with both teams resting key players in advance of the playoffs.
Portland, which sat starting forward LaMarcus Aldridge, ends the regular season on a five-game winning streak. Seeded fifth in the Western Conference, Portland will face the Rockets in a first-round series starting Sunday in Houston.
Jamal Crawford scored 34 points for the Clippers, who didn’t play Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The team set the franchise record for most regular season wins (57) the night before with a victory over Denver.
Going into the game the Clippers had a chance to secure the No. 2 seed in the West. But when Oklahoma City defeated Detroit earlier Wednesday, the Clippers sewed up the third seed and will face Golden State in the opening round starting Saturday.
WARRIORS 116, NUGGETS 112
DENVER (AP) - Jordan Crawford scored a career-high 41 points and Harrison Barnes added 30 as a squad of Golden State backups beat Denver.
Crawford beat his previous career high of 39 points set against Miami on March, 30, 2011, when he was with Washington. He surpassed it with a runner that put the Warriors ahead for good at 110-108.
Randy Foye, who led Denver with 32 points, raced downcourt in response but his finger-roll rimmed out and Golden State corralled the rebound.
With 30 seconds left, Barnes sank a free throw and Draymond Green swooped in to tip in his errant second shot, giving the Warriors a 113-108 lead.
Crawford and Steve Blake each missed a free throw over the next 14 seconds, giving the Nuggets an opening. Green was whistled for goal-tending on Foye’s 3-pointer with seven seconds left but the call was overturned upon review, leaving the Nuggets trailing 115-112.
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