NBA

Nets alive in playoff hunt

By wire services
Published April 20, 2005

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Jason Kidd had a season-high 35 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and the Nets kept control of their own playoff destiny with a 109-101 victory over the Wizards on Tuesday night.

The win was the 14th in 18 games for New Jersey (41-40), leaving it tied with Cleveland, which defeated Boston, for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets, who beat Cleveland in the season series to earn the tiebreaker, can clinch the NBA's final playoff berth in one of two ways: by beating the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday, or having the Cavaliers lose at Toronto.

New Jersey could earn the No. 7 seed with a win at Boston and a loss by Philadelphia at home against Atlanta.

The eighth seed will face Miami in the opening round of the playoffs this weekend. The seventh seed will get the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons. And with the way Kidd and company are playing after a season of injuries and transition, the Nets could be a tough opponent.

CAVALIERS 100, CELTICS 86: LeBron James and Robert Traylor made sure host Cleveland will play at least one more meaningful game. James had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Traylor came off the bench to score a career-high 22 and Eric Snow added a season-high 13 assists for the Cavs (41-40), who came in one game behind New Jersey for the eighth and final playoff in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers, whose first playoff appearance since 1998 seemed a certainty before a stunning second-half collapse, need to win at Toronto in their season finale Wednesday night and hope the Celtics can bounce back at home and beat the Nets.

BULLS 92, KNICKS 91: Rookie Ben Gordon scored 16 and hit the game-winner with 5.8 seconds left for host Chicago. The Bulls locked up home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Chicago will open its first playoff appearance since 1998 against Washington, which lost any chance for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference by losing at New Jersey.

MAVS 101, SUPERSONICS 96: Dirk Nowitzki scored 21, giving him a career-best 2,016 for the season, and Dallas continued its acceleration into the playoffs. The win gives Dallas a nine-game home winning streak to take into the postseason - which it will open Saturday at home against Houston.

PISTONS 95, HAWKS 68: Tayshaun Prince scored 20 and Ben Wallace added 15 points and 17 rebounds to power visiting Detroit to its 11th consecutive victory.

HEAT 99, BOBCATS 80: Rasual Butler scored a career-high 25 and host Miami continued tuning up for the postseason. The Heat were playing without injured Shaquille O'Neal. Miami got 14 points from Dwyane Wade in its final home game of the regular season.

RAPTORS 127, BUCKS 109: Jalen Rose scored 29, Morris Peterson added 24 and Rafer Alston 22 for visiting Toronto. The Bucks finish 30-52, 11 victories fewer than last year in coach Terry Porter's inaugural season.

NUGGETS 119, BLAZERS 115: Carmelo Anthony had 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Earl Boykins had 18 of his 24 points in the second half to lead host Denver.

NEW YORK - A meeting Tuesday brought the league and its union no closer to a new labor agreement, and a new contract remained elusive despite at least a dozen meetings between league and union negotiators.

When NBA commissioner David Stern meets with NBA owners this week to discuss the talks, the best he'll be able to provide them with is an update.

"It certainly has been our goal to get it done as soon as possible. Without putting a date on it, every day we don't have it, in our view, is not a good thing," Stern said.

[Last modified April 20, 2005, 02:56:36]