After 82 games, it's time to fly into postseason
By NBA.com staff reports
Posted Apr 16 2009 3:29AM
Finally, the confusing playoff scenarios that wrecked brains like a nuclear medicine final exam is over.
It came all the way down to final night of the regular season, but the NBA's playoff bracket is set.
In the East, the 76ers locked up the No. 6 seed on Wednesday by beating the Cavs 111-110 in overtime, while the Bulls lost at home 109-98 to the Raptors to settle for the No. 7 seed.
The Bulls will face the second-seeded, defending champion Celtics in the first-round of the playoffs.
Out West, where most of the confusion resided, the Spurs won the Southwest Division and earned the No. 3 seed with a 105-98 overtime victory against Chris Paul and the Hornets. The loss dropped the Hornets into the No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup against the Northwest Division champion Nuggets. Denver had already locked up the division when they took the floor against Portland, which won 104-76.
The Blazers' big win helped them earn the fourth seed and home-court advantage in a first-round series against Houston.
Houston had a chance to be seeded as high as second in the West, but lost 95-84 to the Mavericks and fell all the way to No. 5.
The sixth-seeded Mavericks, who climbed out of the No. 8 seed and avoided a matchup with the top-seeded Lakers, will play the Spurs in the first round.
Toronto 109, Chicago 98
Memphis 98, Atlanta 90
Miami 102, Detroit 96, OT
Orlando 98, Charlotte 73
Indiana 115, Milwaukee 108
Boston 115, Washington 107
New York 102, New Jersey 73
Dallas 95, Houston 84
Sacramento 97, Minnesota 90
San Antonio 105, New Orleans 98, OT
Philadelphia 111, Cleveland 110, OT
Portland 104, Denver 76
Phoenix 117, Golden State 113
Oklahoma City 126, L.A. Clippers 85
Eddie House of the Boston Celtics broke Danny Ainge's single-season franchise record with a 44.4 percentage on 3-point shots.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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