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Denver clinches a playoff berth

Nuggets rookie forward Carmelo Anthony, right, hugs forward Rodney White at midcourt after Denver's 97-89 victory over the Kings in Denver, Monday. With the win, the Nuggets secured a berth in the NBA Western conference playoffs. PHOTO: AP

The 16 NBA playoff teams are finally known. Exactly who will be seeded where remains to be determined.

The Denver Nuggets became the final team to clinch a postseason berth, defeating the Sacramento Kings 97-89 on Monday night in front of a boisterous crowd that included Michael Jordan.

The Nuggets will be the eighth seed, though they don't know yet whether they'll play the Kings, Lakers or Spurs.

That answer won't come until late Wednesday night when the 82-game regular season concludes.

"This is a heck of a place to play and these people have been great all year," Denver guard Jon Barry said. "A lot of people didn't give us any chance and people believed, we believed in ourselves."

The Kings can still win the Pacific Division and the No. 2 seed by defeating Golden State on Wednesday -- or with a loss by the Lakers on Tuesday against the Warriors.

If Sacramento (55-26) loses Wednesday and the Lakers (54-26) win Tuesday and Wednesday (vs. Portland), Los Angeles will get the No. 2 seed.

Also, the Midwest Division title remains undecided.

Minnesota can win it outright by defeating Memphis on Wednesday, but a loss by the Wolves (57-24) and a victory by San Antonio (56-25) over Denver would give it to the Spurs.

Much remains unsettled in the East, too, though not at the top.

Miami (41-40), Milwaukee (41-40), New Orleans (40-41) and New York (39-42) are fourth through seventh. The Bucks will finish No. 4 with a win Wednesday against Toronto.

A loss by Milwaukee, however, would drop the Bucks to fifth. And a loss by Milwaukee combined with a win by the Hornets would make them sixth.

Nuggets 97, Kings 89

At Denver, Marcus Camby had 12 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks to help the Nuggets reach the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

The third-largest crowd in Nuggets history (19,746) stood and cheered for several minutes after the game while players hugged and hammed it up with fans -- a huge moment for a team that challenged the league's futility mark in 1998 and won just 17 games last season.

Timberwolves 104, Jazz 90

At Minneapolis, Latrell Sprewell scored 24 points and Kevin Garnett had his 71st double-double -- 21 points and 17 rebounds -- as the Timberwolves won their eighth straight.

Spurs 78, Trail Blazers 66

At Portland, Tim Duncan had 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio to its 10th straight victory.

Portland was eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.

Heat 84, Celtics 77

At Boston, Lamar Odom had 28 points and 11 rebounds to help the Miami Heat retain a chance to open the playoffs at home, while Boston slipped into the playoffs.

Cavaliers 93, Bucks 89

At Cleveland, LeBron James gave the local crowd one more night to savor, scoring 27 points as the Cavaliers won their home finale.

Pacers 107, 76ers 93

At Philadelphia, Jermaine O'Neal scored 28 points to help Indiana (60-21) eclipse the franchise record for wins set by the 1969-1970 American Basketball Association team.

Hawks 129, Nets 107

At Atlanta, Bob Sura became the first NBA player in seven years to have three straight triple-doubles. Sura had 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds -- the last coming when he intentionally missed a layup.

Rockets 111, SuperSonics 107

At Seattle, Mark Jackson made a rare start and scored a season-high 25 points as Houston locked up the seventh seed in the West.
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