Bulls beat Cavs to clinch best record in East

CLEVELAND (AP):For the first time since the final year of the Michael Jordan era, the road through the Eastern Conference play-offs will again go through Chicago.

Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Bulls clinched the top seed in the East with a 93-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

Chicago, which have won six straight and 18 of 20, will have home-court advantage through the first three rounds of the play-offs. The Bulls haven't finished with the best record in the East since 1997-98, the most recent of their six NBA championships with Jordan.

Despite wrapping up the top seed, there were no celebrations in Chicago's locker room.

"It's good to be the No. 1 seed, but at the end of the day we understand that there is a bigger picture," centre Joakim Noah said. "We're staying focused. It's definitely an achievement and we're excited about it."

The Bulls, winners of five in a row and nine of 10 on the road, had six players score in double figures. Ronnie Brewer had 12 points, while Derrick Rose added 11 points and eight assists. Noah scored 11 points, while Luol Deng and Kyle Korver had 10 points apiece.

J.J. Hickson led Cleveland with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Daniel Gibson scored 14 points, while Ramon Sessions added 13.

The Cavaliers, who had won their previous two games, fell into a tie with Minnesota for the league's worst record.

The Bulls, who barely made the play-offs last season and were eliminated by the Cavaliers in the first round, have made major strides under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau, who had been a long-time assistant with Boston.

Rose, a leading candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player Award, gives his coach all the credit.

"Tibbs, man, is the coach of the year to me," he said. "He's been honest, holding everyone accountable, every time we step on the court."

The players also reflect the business-like attitude of their coach.

"It's the next step," Thibodeau said. "We still have a ways to go. We're not done. We have to keep playing and keep improving."

The Cavaliers were trying to win three in a row for the first time since November 5-9. Coach Byron Scott was unhappy with Cleveland's 16 turnovers that resulted in 16 points for the Bulls.

"We did not help ourselves," he said. "They are a very good team, but we didn't do a very good job of taking care of the ball."

Chicago led 54-46 at half-time, but the Cavaliers cut the lead to three midway through the third quarter. The Bulls scored 10 straight points and ended the period on an 18-6 run.

Trail Blazers 93, Lakers 86

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help Portland prevent Los Angeles from locking up the second seed in the West.

Gerald Wallace had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers, who remained in the sixth spot in the conference as they jockey for play-off positioning with Memphis and New Orleans.

Kobe Bryant had 24 points for the Lakers, who lost their fourth straight and would have secured the No. 2 seed with a win and a Dallas loss. The Mavericks beat the Clippers 107-96.

Heat 112, Bobcats 103

Chris Bosh had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Dwayne Wade returned from injury to score 27 and help Miami maintain their tie with Boston for second place in the East.

LeBron James added 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which won for the 12th time in 15 games and face the Celtics today.

Celtics 104, Wizards 88

Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 14 assists and Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett also had double-doubles for Boston, which remain tied with Miami for No. 2 in the East.

Andray Blatche led the Wizards with 20 points and 10 rebounds, John Wall scored 20 and Jordan Crawford 19.

Mavericks 107, Clippers 96

Corey Brewer had 20 points and Peja Stojakovic scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter to help Dallas maintain their hold on the No. 3 spot in the West.

The Mavs had lost four straight since beating the Clippers a week ago Wednesday and would've slipped to the fourth seed with a loss. Dallas trailed by 16 in the first quarter, then took control with a 22-4 spurt in the third.

Thunder 104, Nuggets 89

Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook added 17 and Oklahoma City beat Denver for their second win this week over a potential first-round play-off opponent.

Oklahoma City came in sitting in fourth in the West, with Denver fifth, and should be feeling confident if the teams meet in the post-season next week.

Knicks 116, Nets 93

Carmelo Anthony had 25 points and 14 rebounds and New York ended a franchise-worst streak of nine straight losing seasons with their sixth consecutive victory.

Chauncey Billups added 22 points for the Knicks, who played without Amare Stoudemire. New York remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and completed the first season sweep of their cross-river rivals since winning all three meetings in the shortened 1999 season.

Hornets 109, Suns 97

Willie Green hit his first 12 shots and finished with a season-high 31 points to lead New Orleans. Trevor Ariza added 21 points as the Hornets tied Portland for sixth in the West.

76ers 98, Raptors 93

Elton Brand scored 22 points and Thaddeus Young had 20 to help Philadelphia snap a three-game losing streak.

Andre Iguodala scored 16 points for the Sixers, who could still finish sixth in the East. The Sixers have already clinched their first play-off appearance in two years. With 41 wins and two games left, the Sixers can finish with a winning record for the first time since 2004-05.

Grizzlies 101, Kings 96

Zach Randolph had 27 points and 15 rebounds to help Memphis clinch the final play-off spot in the West, eliminating Houston from the race in the process.

Marcus Thornton led the Kings with 18 points, seven of them coming in the final 2:30 to keep the Grizzlies from celebrating too early. Samuel Dalembert had 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Pacers 114, Hawks 102

Danny Granger scored 28 points to help Indiana remain locked into the No. 8 play-off spot in the East.

Jeff Teague scored 21 points and Joe Johnson added 17 for the Hawks, who lost their third straight and are fifth in the conference.

Pistons 110, Bucks 100

Chris Wilcox scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Detroit. Rodney Stuckey added 22 points for the Pistons, including four straight free throws in the final minutes to help Detroit win their second straight.

Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 31 points and Ersan Ilyasova added 18 in his first action since a February 26 concussion.