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Carter leads New Jersey Nets over Boston Celtics

The New Jersey Nets were playing for a post-season berth, and Vince Carter gave them a second season.

Carter scored 15 of his 37 points in the decisive 32-8 third quarter to lead the Nets past the Boston Celtics, 102-93 on Wednesday night and clinch the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

New Jersey (42-40) finish deadlocked with Cleveland in the standings. But the Nets owned the tiebreaker, by winning the season series, to eliminate the Cavaliers, who beat the Toronto Raptors, behind 27 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists by LeBron James.

Nenad Krstic collected 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jason Kidd had 19 points along with eight boards and seven assists for New Jersey, which faces top-seeded Miami Heat in the first-round of their playoff series on Sunday.

The Nets were dominated in all three regular-season games, but need to find a way to slow down Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade.

The Nets trailed by as many as 19 points in the second quarter, but Carter took charge in the second half. The explosive small forward scored 24 points, including 15 in the pivotal third quarter, to put the Nets ahead, 79-66 entering the fourth quarter.

The Celtics pulled to within 96-93 on a jumper by rookie Justin Reed with 76 seconds left. But the Nets made six free throws to wrap up the victory.

Paul Pierce scored 21 points for third-seeded Boston, which faces Indiana in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday night.

Miami Heat 98, Orlando Magic 93: Keyon Dooling scored 19 points and the Heat ended the regular-season without its two All-Stars.

Shaquille O'Neal was sidelined with a bruised right thigh while Dwyane Wade was rested. Both are expected to return for Sunday's playoff opener against the Nets.

Pacers 85, Chicago Bulls 83

Jermaine O'Neal scored 21 points and Anthony Johnson added 20, including the clinching 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining, making retiring Reggie Miller's final regular-season game a hit.

Miller had 12 points and will finish his 18-year career as the NBA's No. 12 all-time scorer.

76ers 110, Atlanta Hawks 86

Allen Iverson scored all 16 of his points in the opening quarter en route to his fourth league scoring title, as the 76ers clinched the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Philadelphia will play defending NBA champion and second-seeded Detroit in the first-round of their post-season series.

Bobcats 97, Pistons 86

Emeka Okafor had 16 points and 19 rebounds as the Bobcats (18-64) completed their initial season by breaking the Pistons' 11-game winning streak.

Timberwolves 95, Spurs 73

Ndubi Ebi had a career-best 18 points as the Timberwolves ended their disappointing season by routing the Spurs.

San Antonio will host No. 7 Denver on Sunday in their Western Conference playoff series.

Mavericks 108, Grizzlies 88

Josh Howard scored 27 points and the Mavericks finished the season with their ninth consecutive victory.

Fourth-seeded Dallas will host No. 5 seeded Houston on Sunday in their opening round playoff series.

Rockets 106, SuperSonics 78

Mike James scored 24 points and the Rockets ended the season with their seventh straight victory without Tracy McGrady.

Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen scored 21 points each for Seattle, which will open the playoffs tomorrow against Sacramento.

Kings 132, Suns 107

Bobby Jackson, making his first appearance in four months since tearing ligaments in his left wrist, had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, helping the Kings to their fifth consecutive 50-win season.

Amare Stoudemire had 30 points and 11 rebounds for top-seeded Phoenix (62-20), which faces Memphis in their opening-round playoff series.

Knicks 113, Wizards 105

Jamal Crawford scored 36 points and the Knicks avoided a 50-loss season.

Other results: LA Clippers 86, New Orleans Hornets 75; Portland Trail Blazers 106, LA Lakers 103; Golden State Warriors 106, Utah Jazz 89.
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