Manu Ginobili scored 18 points and Tim Duncan added 16 to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 115-82 and clinch the Southwest Division title and the best record in the NBA's Western Conference on Monday.
The Spurs earned the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
"It's great to get [home court] wrapped up," Duncan said.
PHOTO: AP
"I'm feeling good right now -- feeling healthy. I think we all feel pretty good right now, and that's the main thing," he said.
San Antonio (62-19) took a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 36 points, allowing the Spurs to rest their starters as the playoffs draw near.
Duncan hit 7-of-13 shots and had five rebounds in 22 minutes. He left the game and did not return with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter when the Spurs had a 14-point lead. Ginobili played 25 minutes.
"Nobody is going to turn down home court," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I've said that about 1,000 times over the years. Nobody is going to give it up, but it doesn't ensure anything. We've had it before and got knocked out. It's not a sure bet."
Andrei Kirilenko sat out because of lower back spasms for Utah, which has lost two straight games. Deron Williams led Utah (40-41) with 18 points.
Bulls 116, Magic 112, OT
At Orlando, Florida, Kirk Hinrich had 26 points and 10 assists and Andres Nocioni scored 24 to help Chicago win in overtime.
Chicago has won five straight and with a little bit of help can move up to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (40-41) are tied for sixth with Indiana and Milwaukee, a half-game behind Washington. Chicago hosts Toronto today in its regular season finale.
Hinrich was 15-for-20 from the free throw line, but missed several free throws in the end of regulation. However, he hit five straight to extend Chicago's overtime lead to 108-102 with 44.1 left.
Hedo Turkoglu had 32 points, including a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left in overtime, and nine rebounds, while Dwight Howard added 22 points and 14 boards for Orlando, which saw its eight-game winning streak end.
Bucks 113, Pistons 93
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd and Bobby Simmons each scored 19 points and Milwaukee beat Detroit as the Pistons rested two of their top three scorers.
The victory temporarily vaulted the Bucks into the No. 6 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, and gave them a shot at the fifth seed in their regular-season finale at Washington yesterday.
The Pistons deactivated Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton, giving them a chance to rest in preparation for the playoffs.
The Pistons couldn't make up for their absence.
Cavaliers 93, Celtics 88
At Boston, Larry Hughes had 21 points, six assists and five steals to help Cleveland overcome the absence of LeBron James and beat Boston. Anderson Varejao added 14 points and Damon Jones had 12 points for the Cavaliers, who swept the Celtics for the first time in franchise history.
Both teams were playing without their best players. James was a late scratch with a sprained left ankle, while Boston forward Paul Pierce missed his second consecutive game with a sore left elbow.
Tony Allen scored a career-high 23 points, but was 3-of-11 from the free-throw line for Boston, which lost its fifth straight game.
Bobcats 98, Knicks 91
At New York, Raymond Felton had 16 points and a season-high 14 assists to lead Charlotte over New York, which tied a franchise record with its 59th loss.
In a matchup of the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference, both clubs were without key players -- and the Knicks were without their coach. Larry Brown missed his third straight game with a stomach ailment, leaving Herb Williams to run the team.
Rookie Alan Anderson scored a season-high 18 points and Jake Voskuhl added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats.
Jamal Crawford scored 24 points and Eddy Curry had 16 for the Knicks.
Pacers 120, Raptors 95
At Toronto, Peja Stojakovic scored 27 points and Indiana ended a nine-game road losing streak.
Stojakovic was one of four Indiana players to have at least 20 points before the start of the fourth quarter. Anthony Johnson added 22, Stephen Jackson had 21 and Jermaine O'Neal 20 for the Pacers, who are trying to improve their seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Indiana already clinched its ninth straight playoff appearance.
Morris Peterson scored 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost 11 of 12 since All-Star forward Chris Bosh suffered a season-ending thumb injury.
Rockets 86, Nuggets 83
At Denver, Juwan Howard scored a season-high 31 points and Houston handed playoff-bound Denver its third straight loss by scoring the final 11 points.
Chuck Hayes had a steal and dunk for the go-ahead score with 13.4 seconds left as the Rockets, a team going nowhere, won for only the second time in nine games.
Trailing 84-83, Marcus Camby missed a 20-footer that would have put Denver ahead with 6 seconds left. After Rafer Alston hit two free throws, Camby missed a desperation heave and the Nuggets left the court to full-throated booing from their fans on "Fan Appreciation Night."
Warriors 93, Trail Blazers 79
At Oakland, California, Mike Dunleavy scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to help Golden State win its fourth straight game.
Ike Diogu added 16 points and Troy Murphy had 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Warriors swept the season series from Portland for the first time ever. Golden State also matched its win total from last season with a game at Utah remaining on the schedule.
Suns 115, Hornets 78
At Phoenix, Leandro Barbosa scored 21 points and playoff-bound Phoenix set a season high with 20 3-pointers.
The victory enabled the Suns to finish their home schedule with a 31-10 record, the same mark as last season when they won 62 games. Raja Bell, who finished with 19 points, hit five threes in nine attempts.
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