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Carter helps Nets dominate Knicks

Boston Celtics forward Ryan Gomes, left, is fouled by Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal in the second quarter of their game in Miami on Monday. PHOTO: AP

Vince Carter had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and the New Jersey Nets clinched at least the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the New York Knicks 104-95 on Monday night to complete a season sweep.

New Jersey is still hoping to catch struggling Washington for the No. 6 seed and face Atlantic Division champion Toronto in the first round. The Nets, who have won three straight and five of six, finish their season on Wednesday night at home against Chicago.

Bostjan Nachbar added 19 points for the Nets, who won their sixth straight at Madison Square Garden and 10th in the last 11 meetings overall against their rivals across the Hudson River. New Jersey has won 22 of the last 26 in the series, including two victories in the last four nights, and is 20-4 against New York in the regular season since acquiring Jason Kidd.

Steve Francis scored 26 points and Mardy Collins had 23 for the Knicks (32-49), who are limping to the finish. They have lost a season-high five straight and need a victory at Charlotte on Wednesday to avoid losing 50 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since doing it three straight times from 1984-87.

Celtics 91, Heat 89

At Miami, Al Jefferson's jump hook with one-tenth of a second left lifted the Celtics. Delonte West scored 28 points, while Jefferson finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for Boston. Rajon Rondo added 17 for the Celtics.

Jason Williams hit his first five 3-point tries -- he finished 5-for-6 -- and scored 16 points for Miami, as did Jason Kapono. Shaquille O'Neal added 14 points and Michael Doleac scored 10 for the Heat, who went with some unusual lineups in an effort to rest key players before the playoffs.

Dwyane Wade had eight points on 3-for-7 shooting in 23 minutes for Miami.

Bucks 102, Hawks 96

At Milwaukee, Mo Williams scored 26 points, Ruben Patterson added 23 and the Bucks snapped a four-game home losing streak.

The Hawks got 21 points from Marvin Williams and 16 points and 17 rebounds from Shelden Williams in a matchup between the teams with the third and fourth-worst records in the league.

The Hawks were without a slew of players and even coach Mike Woodson, who missed their final road game with food poisoning. Assistant coach Larry Drew led the team.

Grizzlies 101, Spurs 91

At Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol scored 25 points,grabbed 15 rebounds and had six assists to lead Memphis. Gasol connected on nine of his 15 shots to lead five Grizzlies in double figures.

Both teams were without key players. Spurs Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili took the night off because San Antonio was no longer playing to enhance its third seed in the West. That left little-used Spurs such as Jackie Butler and James White starting their first games of the season.

Rockets 120, Suns 117

At Houston, Tracy McGrady had 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Houston Rockets secured home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Yao Ming added 34 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets, who won their fifth straight game and snapped a six-game losing streak to Phoenix.

The Rockets secured their best record since 1997 and will open their first-round playoff series against Utah at home next weekend thanks to a better record. But the Jazz, winners of the Northwest Division, will be the No. 4 seed and Houston the fifth seed.

Jazz 130, Trail Blazers 93

At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer scored 26 points and the Jazz tied a season high for points. Utah won its 50th game of the season, but will still open the playoffs on the road against Houston.

Gordan Giricek scored 21 points after missing the last three games with a sore right side and was one of seven Utah players to score in double figures.

Nuggets 122, Timberwolves 107

At Denver, Allen Iverson scored 25 points, then sat back and watched the reserves close out the Nuggets' ninth win in 10 games.

Linas Kleiza scored 23 points, delighting a spirited section of about 50 Lithuanians decked out in green and gold to cheer on their countryman, who Nuggets coach George Karl credited with making the most strides this season.

Carmelo Anthony added 21 in helping the Nuggets pull away with a 19-4 run in the third quarter.

Randy Foye and Justin Reed led the Timberwolves scorers with 19 points each.

Hornets 125, Kings 118

At Sacramento, California, David West scored 25 points and Rasual Butler scored seven straight points during a crucial span of the fourth quarter as the Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak. Butler tied the game at 114 with a 3-pointer and put the Hornets ahead for good with a jumper with 3:27 left. His 3-pointer moments later gave the Hornets a five-point lead.

Chris Paul contributed 23 points and 12 assists for New Orleans, while both Bobby Jackson and Devin Brown had 20 points.

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