After a bummer of a summer that included a referee betting scandal and Kobe Bryant’s shenanigans, the National Basketball Association (NBA) made up for it with a renaissance of a regular season.
The playoff picture took shape on Wednesday as the six Western Conference seeds were determined on the final night.
With the summer doldrums out of the way it was up to the Boston Celtics to spark the league’s revival by making a historic about-face in 2007-2008. To top it off, the best teams in the Western Conference put on a remarkable display right down to the end.
PHOTO: AP
In a preview of their opening series, Dallas beat New Orleans 111-98 on Wednesday and San Antonio and Houston also posted victories to grab their spots in the Wild West.
LeBron James clinched the scoring title without even taking the court on Wednesday as he sat out Cleveland’s final game — an 84-74 loss to Detroit.
But one of the biggest surprises this season was in the East, where the Celtics registered an NBA record 42-win turnaround over last season thanks to the acquisition of all-stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Boston will open the playoffs at home against Atlanta and, with home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, will be in good shape to win its 17th NBA title.
The Celtics also compiled their third-best regular season in history.
The league’s summer of calamity featured marquee player Bryant telling anyone who would listen how unhappy he was in Lakerland and a gambling probe of referee Tim Donaghy.
Donaghy was alleged to have bet on games and made calls affecting point spreads before being fired by the league.
The New Orleans Hornets were another pleasant surprise. Not content to just make the playoffs, the Hornets battled for the top seed in the West right down the stretch.
If the Hornets were the surprise, then the Chicago Bulls were the disappointment of the season.
The Bulls were expected to challenge, but instead they missed the playoffs and coach Scott Skiles was fired.
Celtics 105, Nets 94
At Boston, second-stringer Leon Powe scored a career-high 27 points, adding 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, and the Boston bench helped beat New Jersey.
Boston finished 66-16 for the best record in the NBA.
Richard Jefferson scored 24 points for New Jersey, which ended up 34-48, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Mavericks 111, Hornets 98
At Dallas, Jason Kidd had the 100th triple-double of his career and sparked a 30-8 stretch, sending Dallas into a first-round playoff showdown with New Orleans.
Pacers 132, Knicks 123
At Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers beat New York 132-123, sending the Knicks to a franchise record-tying 59th loss in what might have been Isiah Thomas’ last game as coach.
New Knicks president Donnie Walsh hasn’t promised Thomas he’ll keep his job, and Thomas gave Walsh another reason to fire him. The Knicks allowed their highest point total of the season on the last day of the regular season.
Heat 113, Hawks 99
At Miami, Jason Williams scored 17 points, Mark Blount and Daequan Cook each added 16 and Miami ended a disappointing season that may be the last with Pat Riley as coach.
Riley will meet with Heat owner Micky Arison in the coming days and come to a decision on his future. Miami finished 15-67, matching the 1988-89 expansion team for the worst record in franchise history.
Pistons 84, Cavaliers 74
At Cleveland, Detroit’s reserves outplayed Cleveland’s bench.
Rookie Aaron Afflalo scored 15 points for the Pistons, who will meet Philadelphia in the first round starting on Sunday.
Rockets 93, Clippers 75
At Houston, Luis Scola had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Houston locked up the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Rockets improved to 22-2 in their last 24 home games.
Corey Maggette scored 22 points and Elton Brand added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost 17 of the last 20 meetings to Houston.
Magic 103, Wizards 83
At Orlando, Florida, J.J. Redick scored a career-high 18 points and Marcin Gortat had a career-high 12 points and 11 rebounds in Orlando’s win.
Bobcats 115, 76ers 109
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Jason Richardson scored 29 points and Charlotte recovered from blowing a big lead to send Philadelphia to the playoffs on a four-game losing streak.
Bulls 107, Raptors 97
At Chicago, Tyrus Thomas scored a season-high 26, Aaron Gray had career-highs of 19 points and 22 rebounds, and Chicago watched its woeful season come to a merciful end.
Timberwolves 110, Bucks 101, OT
At Minneapolis, Randy Foye scored 10 of his career-high 32 points in overtime to help Minnesota finish a forgettable regular season on a winning note.
Spurs 109, Jazz 80
At San Antonio, Tony Parker had 24 points and 12 assists for San Antonio, which wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and will play Phoenix in the first round.
Nuggets 120, Grizzlies 111
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first game since getting arrested on a drunken driving charge, and Denver reached 50 wins for the first time in 20 years but still will have to play the top-seeded Lakers in the playoffs.
Suns 100, Trail Blazers 91
At Phoenix, little-used Sean Marks had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Phoenix goes into the playoffs off a win, where it’ll play third-seeded San Antonio.
SuperSonics 126, Warriors 121
At Oakland, California, Kevin Durant set career highs with 42 points and 13 rebounds in his first professional double-double, and Jeff Green added 27 points for the Seattle.
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