DENVER - Nearly a decade of ineptitude is over. The Nuggets are going to the playoffs.
Marcus Camby had 12 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots to help Denver reach the playoffs for the first time since 1995 with a 97-89 victory over Sacramento on Monday night.
With stars including Michael Jordan, Tyra Banks and Lionel Richie in the stands, the Nuggets outhustled and outshot the Kings. The win secured at least the eighth spot in the West for a team that won 17 games last season.
Guard Jon Barry waved a towel and danced along the sideline in the closing seconds, and coach Jeff Bzdelik celebrated by pumping his first and yelling "Yes! Yes! Yes!" to the crowd.
Sacramento lost any chance of gaining the top seed in the West and will have to wait until Wednesday against Golden State to try to secure its third straight Pacific Division title.
HAWKS 129, NETS 107: Bob Sura became the first player in seven years to have three straight triple doubles for host Atlanta. Sura had 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds - the last rebound coming when he intentionally missed a layup just before the buzzer and grabbed his own rebound. The former Florida State standout was the first player since Grant Hill in 1997 to accomplish the feat.
MAGIC 93, BULLS 84: Juwan Howard scored a season-high 38 to help visiting Orlando snap a 13-game losing skid. The Magic beat a Chicago team that will finish with the league's second-worst record. Only Orlando had a worse season.
WOLVES 104, JAZZ 90: Latrell Sprewell scored 24 as host Minnesota moved closer to the top seed in the West. Kevin Garnett had his 71st double double - 21 points and 17 rebounds - for the Timberwolves, who won their eighth straight.
KNICKS 101, HORNETS 97: Reserves Moochie Norris and Michael Sweetney each scored 11 fourth-quarter points as visiting New York overcame a 10-point deficit.
PACERS 107, 76ERS 93: Jermaine O'Neal scored 28 to help visiting Indiana set a single-season record for wins (60).
PISTONS 101, WIZARDS 79: Mike James scored 19 of his 21 in the second half as host Detroit won its eighth in a row.
SPURS 78, BLAZERS 66: Tim Duncan had 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead visiting San Antonio to its 10th straight victory, eliminating Portland from the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.
HEAT 84, CELTICS 77: Lamar Odom had 28 points and 11 rebounds to help visiting Miami retain a chance to open the playoffs at home. It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Celtics, who played without forward Paul Pierce, who rested his sprained right ankle.
ROCKETS 111, SONICS 107: Mark Jackson scored season-high 25 for visiting Houston.
CAVS 93, BUCKS 89: LeBron James gave Cleveland one more night to savor, scoring 27 in the home finale.
"Mad Max' arrested
GAINESVILLE - Retired NBA player and former Florida standout Vernon Maxwell was being held on a felony charge of failure to pay about $160,000 in child support.
State attorney Bill Cervone said the figure includes interest through the fall for the 14-year-old son Maxwell has with Myra Jenkins of Gainesville. The two met at a Gainesville high school in the 1980s, Jenkins said.
Maxwell, 38, of Alpharetta, Ga., was being held on several bonds totaling $126,612, Alachua County jail officials said. One $108,000 bond is cash only, meaning he has to pay the full amount to be freed, not the usual 10 percent to a bail bondsman, Cervone said.
Maxwell was extradited from Cobb County, Ga., on Friday, where he had been arrested on unrelated charges, police said. Police in Georgia were set to release Maxwell after he posted bond, but they contacted authorities in Alachua County after discovering he was wanted in Florida.
Maxwell, known as Mad Max in his playing days, played for several NBA teams in his 13-season career before retiring in 2002. He played for the Gators in the '80s.
SORRY FOR SONG: Atlanta apologized for playing a hip-hop song that contains obscenities and other graphic language. The song, Party Up by rapper DMX, was played over the public address system during a timeout in the second quarter of Saturday's night game. The Hawks said their regular sound person was not at the game, and the song was chosen by another member of the game operations staff. The song was played during a game billed as "Family Night," in which families receive discounts.
WILLIAMS TRIAL: Lawyers for Jayson Williams asked a New Jersey judge to dismiss the manslaughter case against the former All-Star, saying withholding of evidence by prosecutors prohibited a fair trial. Defense attorney Joseph Hayden Jr. asked Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman in Somerville to throw out the charges and prohibit prosecutors from retrying Williams. Coleman said he would rule today on the request.
USBL: Shawn Kemp signed to play for the Oklahoma Storm, a team he partly owns.
