Rocking in Cleveland: Cavaliers clinch No. 1 seed

The road to the NBA Finals will officially go through the 216 area code.

LeBron James scored 37 points as the Cleveland beat the Indiana Pacers 117-109 on Monday night to clinch the league's best record.

Now James expects to rest during Cleveland's regular-season finale, a well-earned reward for leading the Cavaliers to home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

With his team having clinched the top record with a game to spare, coach Mike Brown will likely make James and other key players spectators against Philadelphia -- even though it could cost the Cavs a shot at more NBA history.

A win by the Cavaliers on Wednesday would tie them for the NBA record for best home mark, 40-1, set by the Boston Celtics in 1985-86. James isn't worried about it.

"We've got to do what's best for the ring,'' he said. "We've got home-court advantage already. We're not fighting for breaking a record anymore. We're fighting for that ring.''

Despite finishing with the league's best record, James doesn't think the Cavs should be favored to capture the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"It's going to be Boston,'' he said. "It goes like that every year. Until you knock off the NBA champs, that's the team to beat. We worked hard for the regular season to get to the point where we're at now, the home court. We must serve home in the playoffs like we did in the regular season.''

Cleveland 117, Indiana 109
Toronto 97, Washington 96
New Jersey 91, Charlotte 87
Chicago 91, Detroit 88
Milwaukee 98, Orlando 80
Houston 86, New Orleans 66
Dallas 96, Minnesota 94
Utah 106, L.A. Clippers 85
Denver 118, Sacramento 98
Phoenix 119, Memphis 110
Portland 113, Oklahoma City 83
San Antonio 101, Golden State 72

• J.R. Smith, Nuggets, scored a career-high 45 points and made a franchise-best 11 3-pointers to help Denver clinch the Northwest Division title with a 118-98 win over Sacramento.

• LeBron James, Cavaliers, scored 37 points as Cleveland clinched the NBA's best record with a 117-109 win over Indiana.

• Chris Bosh, Raptors, made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left and had 25 points and 15 rebounds in Toronto's 97-96 victory over Washington.

• Brook Lopez, Nets, had 18 points and a career-best 20 rebounds as New Jersey beat Charlotte 91-87.

• Drew Gooden, Spurs, had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio over Golden State 101-72.

• Carlos Boozer, Jazz, had 20 points and 13 rebounds in Utah's 106-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

• Steve Nash, Suns, had 18 points and 12 assists as Phoenix beat Memphis 119-110.

Denver clinched the Northwest Division title with a 118-98 victory over Sacramento behind a career-best 45 points from reserve J.R. Smith. The Nuggets also tied the franchise record for most wins in a season with 54 and wrapped up no worse than the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Golden State's Anthony Randolph had career bests of 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Warriors' 101-72 loss to San Antonio. ... Hakim Warrick made his first 10 shots, tying a team single-game record, and scored 26 points as Memphis lost to Phoenix 119-110. Rudy Gay also scored 26. ... Ike Diogu scored a career-high 32 points in Sacramento's 118-98 loss to Denver. ... Danny Granger scored 38 points in Indiana's 117-109 loss to Cleveland.

With their 91-88 loss to Chicago on Monday, the Detroit Pistons are guaranteed the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons, who have made six straight trips to the conference finals, will have to face the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the NBA's best record, in the first round.

The Boston Celtics have decided against bringing Kevin Garnett back before the playoffs. Garnett has missed 21 of the team's last 25 games due to a strained right knee, and he'll add two more games to that total when he sits out the final two of the regular season. Coach Doc Rivers decided that since the games were meaningless, there was no point in putting Garnett back out there.

The Wizards must win their final game on Wednesday in Boston to avoid tying the 2000-01 team with a 19-63 mark, the worst record in team history.

Detroit has lost 12 games after leading going into the fourth quarter and is guaranteed its first losing season since 2000-01.

Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, had courtside seats next to Rockets owner Leslie Alexander. The Bushes live in Houston and regularly attend major sporting events in the area. During a timeout in the second quarter, Bush accepted a $100,000 check for the Bush-Clinton coastal recovery fund, money raised at a Rockets charity dinner earlier this year.

In winning their 45th game of the season, the Suns became only the third team in NBA history to reach that total and not earn a playoff berth. They will finish their disappointing season Wednesday night at home against Golden State.

The Associated Press contributed to this report