NBA

Milwaukee edges Orlando to finish seventh in the East

MILWAUKEE -- Tracy McGrady in sweats and Sam Cassell in street clothes is not what the fans paid good money to see.

But the Magic and Bucks were thinking more about the playoffs than their regular-season finale Wednesday night, though the outcome decided their postseason pairings.

The Bucks won 93-87 behind Desmond Mason's 19 points and 11 assists, and 21 points from Tim Thomas, who made his first start in three weeks.

With their eighth victory in nine games, the Bucks secured the seventh seed in the East and face New Jersey in the first round of the playoffs. Orlando got the eighth and plays top-seeded Detroit.

"This probably is not the matchup we wanted if we could have picked," coach Doc Rivers said. "I was hoping we would have pulled this one out."

Players who don't usually get meaningful minutes got plenty of playing time, much to the chagrin of fans at the Bradley Center. "Hey, Doc, it's $100 a ticket, put T-Mac in!" a fan near the Magic bench yelled at Rivers in the first quarter, getting a laugh from McGrady.

PACERS 90, NETS 83: Al Harrington finished one assist shy of his first triple double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, as host Indiana secured third in the East. Indiana faces Boston in the first round. Anthony Johnson led the Nets with 16 points and Aaron Williams added 14.

New Jersey center Jason Collins was ejected in the third after a flagrant foul on Reggie Miller, who was driving for a layup under the basket. Collins knocked Miller to the floor, where he stayed several minutes before making two free throws.

MAVERICKS 93, SPURS 72: Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 to lead visiting Dallas to its first 60-win season. Steve Smith scored 11 to lead the West's top seed San Antonio, which faces Phoenix in the opening round. The Mavericks are seeded third.

Also, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will match up to $1-million in donations for a fund to help families of U.S. military personnel killed or seriously injured in Iraq. The money will help families pay for immediate needs like funeral costs, mortgage payments and other bills, Cuban said. Donations can be made via the Web site www.fallenpatriotfund.org or at Bank of America branches.

HORNETS 92, HAWKS 77: Baron Davis scored 21 as host New Orleans finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak. Jamal Mashburn had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career triple double. Philadelphia's win over Washington guaranteed New Orleans would finish fifth in the East. The Hornets face the 76ers, whom they beat at Philadelphia on Sunday.

CELTICS 99, PISTONS 92: Tony Delk scored 17 before sitting out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters as host Boston tuned up for the playoffs with a win over the East's top seed. Boston, seeded sixth, will open at Indiana. Danny Manning scored 18 for the Pistons.

CAVS 96, RAPTORS 86: Rookie Tierre Brown had 16 points and nine assists for host Cleveland. Lenny Wilkens likely coached his final game for the Raptors. The 65-year-old, the career leader in coaching victories (1,292) and losses (1,114), is expected to be fired by general manager Glen Grunwald. "It's been a tough year and the season is over and now we've got to move on and decide what we are going to do," Wilkens said. He was reluctant to address questions about whether it was his last game.

KINGS 95, JAZZ 84: Chris Webber scored 15 for host Sacramento. The Kings, seeded second, and Jazz begin their third playoff series in five years this weekend.

WOLVES 95, GRIZZLIES 87: Kevin Garnett had 19 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists and Wally Szczerbiak scored 17 as visiting Minnesota clinched fourth in the West. Memphis (28-54) finished with the best regular season in franchise history.

SONICS 84, SUNS 70: Ray Allen scored 19 as host Seattle ended its season. Joe Johnson scored 21 to lead Phoenix, which is back in the playoffs for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons.

ROCKETS 89, NUGGETS 84: Steve Francis had 17 points and nine assists, and Yao Ming had 13 points and 16 rebounds for visiting Houston. Both teams are out of the playoffs. Denver finished tied with Cleveland for the league's worst record at 17-65.

INJURIES: Magic forward Pat Garrity (strained groin), Nets center Dikembe Mutombo (wrist), Bucks forward Jason Caffey (back), Spurs forward Tim Duncan (knee) and guard Stephen Jackson (thumb), and Pistons centers Ben Wallace (knee), Clifford Robinson (knee) and Zeljko Rebraca (back) were placed on the injured list for their respective teams. All are eligible for the playoffs.

LAKERS: Shaquille O'Neal's wife could give birth in a week, but coach Phil Jackson does not think his star center will miss any playoff games. The Lakers, seeking a fourth straight title, anticipate playing their first three games Sunday, Tuesday and April25. When asked if O'Neal could miss a game, Jackson said, "Not unless she suddenly goes into labor while he's on the free-throw line and he gets a call on his cell phone and says he has to go now."

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