INDIANAPOLIS - The playoffs will go through Indiana.
Ron Artest's 24 points and four steals helped the Pacers clinch homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs with a 90-80 win over the short-handed Nets on Friday night.
The victory assured the Pacers (59-21) of having the best record in the league and also set their NBA franchise record for wins in a season. The Pacers can eclipse their all-time record, set in the ABA, with a win Monday at Philadelphia.
New Jersey was without Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, both nursing left knee injuries. With the Atlantic Division and No. 2 seed in the East already sewn up, Nets coach Lawrence Frank rested his two All-Stars for the second game of a back-to-back set.
Even without their two best players, the Nets made a game of it for nearly 40 minutes.
Leading by three with under 10 minutes to play, the Pacers went on a 12-2 run to seal the win and improve to a league-best 33-7 at home.
PISTONS 74, RAPTORS 66: Richard Hamilton scored 10 of his 20 in the fourth to lead host Detroit to its sixth straight win. The Pistons were missing point guard Chauncey Billups (ankle) but won for the 14th time in 16 games, including 10 straight at home. They also extended their league record by holding an opponent under 70 points for the 11th time this season. Tayshaun Prince added 14 points, Ben Wallace had 16 rebounds and Rasheed Wallace added 12 rebounds.
WIZARDS 83, 76ERS 80: Gilbert Arenas sank a 3-pointer as time expired and scored visiting Washington's final 12 points. The shot could have eliminated the Philadelphia from postseason play had Boston won. The Celtics (35-44) need to lose their final three and the Sixers have to win their last three to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Arenas carried Washington as it played spoiler for the second time this week. It beat Boston to delay the Celtics wrapping up the final spot in the East.
HORNETS 89, CELTICS 80: Jamaal Magloire had 23 points and 17 rebounds and George Lynch's defense led host New Orleans to a four-game season sweep of Boston. The Hornets got 15 points from Lynch, starting because he defended Paul Pierce well in the other victories against the Celtics. Lynch had three second-half 3-pointers and helped hold Pierce to 5-of-16 shooting.
HEAT 106, CAVALIERS 91: Dwyane Wade scored 20 and Miami used a 29-8 run in the second half to pull away from Cleveland, which was eliminated from the playoffs. A crowd of 20,213, a record for the AmericanAirlines Arena, saw the Heat win its 11th in a row at home. Miami, which started 0-7, is above .500 (40-39) for the first time since Oct. 31, 2001. LeBron James kept the Cavaliers in the game, but the Heat outscored them 27-12 in the fourth quarter.
HAWKS 116, BULLS 101: Stephen Jackson scored 36 and Bob Sura had his first career triple double for visiting Atlanta. Chicago played lackluster defense in losing for the 15th time in 19 games. Jason Terry added 23 points and had 11 assists for the Hawks. Chris Crawford scored 20, and Sura had 12 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. Atlanta shot 49 percent. Kirk Hinrich scored a career-high 29 to lead the Bulls.
SPURS 84, BLAZERS 74: Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili each scored 21 to lead host San Antonio to its eighth straight win. Ginobili had 18 of his points in the first half, when the Spurs shot 58 percent to build a 20-point lead that wasn't seriously challenged until the fourth. Portland dropped into a three-way tie with Utah and Denver for the eighth and final playoff berth in the West.
ROCKETS 106, NUGGETS 103: Houston clinched a playoff berth for the first time in five seasons behind a season-high 33 points from Steve Francis. Marcus Camby scored 23 and Carmelo Anthony 20 as Denver lost for the sixth straight time in Houston. Rodney White missed a desperation 3-pointer with five seconds to play, and Andre Miller missed a 25-footer at the buzzer.
BUCKS: Forward Keith Van Horn is day to day with a sprained right hand, which he hurt while dunking. He saw a hand specialist Thursday.
LAKERS: Guard Kareem Rush was activated from the injured list. A bone bruise in his right foot put him on the list March 30.
