Playing at home, the Chicago Bulls clinched the top overall seed in the playoffs by routing the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-75.
John Lucas III scored a career-high 25 points and Joakim Noah had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who had already claimed the top seed in the East, and with Thursday’s win they guaranteed they finished ahead of San Antonio for the best record overall.
Chicago will host Philadelphia today.
Photo: EPA
Tristan Thompson scored 13 points for the Cavaliers, who lost four straight games to end the season in last place.
GRIZZLIES 88, MAGIC 76
In Memphis, the hosts claimed the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of NBA playoffs by beating the Orlando Magic 88-76 on Thursday.
Marc Gasol scored 22 points and Rudy Gay added 20 for the Grizzlies, who won their 11th straight home game and will open the playoffs at home tomorrow against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Hedo Turkoglu, playing for the first time in 10 games because of a facial fracture, led the Magic with 18 points, hitting 7 of 13 shots from the field.
The Magic rested all their starters, already guaranteed of being the No. 6 seed in the East.
HAWKS 106, MAVERICKS 89
In Atlanta, the hosts clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs by beating defending champ Dallas.
Josh Smith scored 23 points for the Hawks, who raced to a 23-point lead in the first quarter and wrapped up the fourth-best record in the East and host fourth-seeded Boston tomorrow.
Dirk Nowitzki’s 22 points led the Mavericks, who will open the playoffs today at Oklahoma City.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Spurs 107, Warriors 101
‧ Celtics 87, Bucks 74
‧ Wizards 104, Heat 70
‧ Nuggets 131, Timberwolves
102
‧ Jazz 96, Trail Blazers 94
‧ Kings 113, Lakers 96
‧ Pistons 108, 76ers 86
‧ Rockets 84, Hornets 77
‧ Raptors 98, Nets 67
‧ Knicks 104, Bobcats 84
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