NBA Today

SCOREBOARD

Friday, April 17

No games scheduled. The NBA playoffs begin Saturday.

STARS

Wednesday

-Chris Quinnm Heat, made a 3-pointer late in overtime to give Miami the lead, took a charge to preserve it, then capped his career-best 26-point night with a running jumper with 6.8 seconds left in a 102-96 win over Detroit.

-Shawn Marion and Chris Bosh, Raptors. Marion scored a season-high 34 points, Bosh had 19 rebounds while scoring 21 points, and Toronto snapped Chicago's season-best five-game win streak with a 109-98 victory.

-Danny Granger, Pacers, scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter in his 23rd game with 30 or more points this season in Indiana's 115-108 victory over Milwaukee.

-O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay, Grizzlies. Mayo scored 26 points and Gay added 20 to lead Memphis to a 98-90 victory over Atlanta.

-Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks, had 30 points and 15 rebounds in leading Dallas past Houston 95-84 and costing the Rockets the Southwest Division crown.

-Ike Diogu, Kings, had 28 points and 13 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Minnesota 97-90.

-Tim Duncan, Spurs, scored six of his 20 points in overtime and finished with 19 rebounds as San Antonio won the Southwest Division crown with a 105-98 victory over New Orleans.

-Andre Miller and Andrew Iguodala, 76ers. Miller scored 30 points and Iguodala 24 for the Philadelphia in a 111-110 OT win against Cleveland, which rested LeBron James.

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

The postseason matchups are set, with Cleveland hosting Detroit, Boston hosting Chicago, Orlando hosting Philadelphia, and Atlanta hosting Miami to begin the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the West, the Lakers will be open at home against Utah, Denver hosts New Orleans, San Antonio hosts Dallas, and Portland hosts Houston. All series are best-of-seven.

MILESTONES

Toronto's Jose Calderon broke Calvin Murphy's league record for free-throw accuracy in a season, finishing at 98.1 percent (151-for-154) after hitting both his attempts in a 109-98 win at Chicago. ... Troy Murphy grabbed 12 rebounds to break Clark Kellogg's Indiana NBA record for most rebounds in a season, set in 1983. He finished with 861. ... Eddie House broke the single-season Celtics record with a 44.4 percentage on 3-point shots, surpassing current Celtics general manager Danny Ainge's mark. House made five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and 6 of 9 in the game to finish the season at 151-for-340. Ainge hit 44.3 percent of his 3-pointers (85-for-192) in 1986-87. ... Grant Hill completed his most durable pro season by scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Suns beat the Warriors 117-113. Hill, plagued by injuries throughout his 15 NBA seasons, appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career. His 27 points matched his season high.

JUST SHORT

A 111-110 loss to Philadelphia in overtime left the Cavaliers at 39 home wins - one shy of tying the 1985-86 Boston Celtics' all-time home record of 40-1. LeBron James was rested for the playoffs against the 76ers.

STREAKS

Toronto snapped Chicago's season-high five-game winning streak 109-98. ... New York (32-50) completed its fifth straight season without a playoff appearance. The Knicks will enter next season tied with Minnesota for the longest playoff drought. ... The Celtics posted their 100th consecutive sellout. ... Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki cracked 20 points for the 25th straight game, scoring 31 in a 95-84 win over Houston. Dallas also has won at least 50 games in nine straight seasons. ... Portland finished the season with six consecutive wins.

STATS

Detroit went 39-43, its worst record in nine seasons, but got the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth. ... The Raptors had a 57-40 rebounding edge over the Bulls in their 109-98 victory. ... New York's David Lee got his NBA-best 65th double-double with 12 rebounds and 12 points in a 102-73 rout of New Jersey. ... Nets rookie Brook Lopez joined Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber and Alonzo Mourning as the only first-year players with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 150 blocks. ... Washington ended the season 19-63 record, matching its worst mark for an 82-game season. ... Only LeBron James (seven) and Chris Paul (six) had more triple-doubles this season than the 36-year-old Jason Kidd. Kidd had 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season and 103rd of his career in a 95-84 win over Houston. ... The Clippers finished the season 19-63, only their eighth-worst record in franchise history.

SCORING

Dwyane Wade sat on the Heat bench in a suit for a 102-96 OT win against Detroit. But he won the scoring title by averaging 30.2 points, becoming Miami's first scoring champion - 1.8 points better than Cleveland's LeBron James, last year's top scorer.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists for the Hornets in their 105-98 overtime loss to San Antonio. Paul finished as the league leader in assists with an 11.0 average. ... Kwame Brown finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit in its 102-96 overtime loss to Miami. ... Derrick Rose had a solid game, finishing with 20 points and 11 assists, while Ben Gordon scored 23 in Chicago's 109-98 loss to Toronto. ... Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 31 points, and Luc Mbah a Moute had 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 115-108 loss at Indiana. ... Flip Murray led the Hawks with 29 points, including 20 in the second half, of a 98-90 loss at Memphis. ... Caron Butler scored a season-high 39 for the Wizards in a 115-107 loss at Boston. ... Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 28 points in the Cavs' 111-110 overtime loss to the Sixers. ... Anthony Morrow wrapped up his strong rookie season for Golden State with 33 points and 12 rebounds.

TURNAROUND

The Heat went from 15-67, the NBA's worst record last season, to 43-39 and the fifth seed in the East. ... The Bobcats (35-47) finished with the best record in franchise history - two wins better than the 2006-07 team. But Charlotte lost its final four games, all on the road, and seven of its last eight. ... The Suns' Shaquille O'Neal failed to make the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season.

HOME SWEET HOME?

Minnesota (24-58) finished with 13 victories on the road and 11 at home, the only team in the league with a better record on the road.

SIDELINED

Michael Beasley scored 12 of his 22 points in the first quarter for Miami, but left midway through the third against Detroit after getting hit near the right eye by the Pistons' Amir Johnson. He was not seriously injured, and the Heat expected him to be able to practice Thursday. ... Cavs forward Ben Wallace missed his second game with a strained tendon in his left knee. His status remains unclear for the playoffs. ... Bobcats guard Raja Bell missed his sixth straight game with a calf injury. ... The Nets finished their season without their two best players: Devin Harris (sore left shoulder) and Vince Carter (sprained right big toe) sat out a loss to the Knicks. ... Washington played without top scorer Antawn Jamison, who hurt his right ankle in a 97-96 loss to Toronto on Monday night. ... Clippers forward Zach Randolph missed the team's finale because of a mild concussion.

SPEAKING

"What else would the goal be? A championship is what's on our mind.'' - Orlando's Tony Battie, looking ahead to the playoffs.

"He did it with his legs, his body and his heart. I mean he really, really worked out there and made Yao work, and just our activity defensively as a team took a quantum leap when you've got a guy working like that.'' - Dallas coach Rick Carlisle of Brandon Bass, who held Yao Ming scoreless for much of the second half despite giving away 10 inches and 60 pounds. The Mavs beat the Rockets 95-84.