The AP reports: Rasho Nesterovic scored 20 points, Chris Bosh had 15 and the Raptors beat the Miami Heat 91-75 on Monday night. The win, coupled with Cleveland’s 91-90 victory at Philadelphia, gave Toronto the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and an opening round matchup with Orlando… Anthony Parker had 13 and Jason Kapono scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, when Toronto outscored Miami 21-11… Daequan Cook had 22 and Chris Quinn added 14 for the Heat, who lost for the 21st time in their past 24 games. Miami must beat Atlanta at home Wednesday to avoid the worst record in franchise history. The Heat went 15-67 in their inaugural 1988-89 season.
Day: April 15, 2008
Apr. 14: Cavs 91, Sixers 90
The AP reports: The 76ers saw Devin Brown’s shot fall short, heard the buzzer and darted toward the locker room for an apparent victory celebration. Game over? Not so fast. Officials reviewed the final sequence for several minutes before deciding that Sixers center Samuel Dalembert fouled Brown with 0.2 seconds left and brought Philadelphia back to the court for the free throws. Minutes after the game was seemingly over, Brown sank the pressure-packed free throws to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-90 win over the Sixers on Monday night and clinch the fourth seed in the East… LeBron James scored 27 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 and the Cavaliers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs… Andre Miller scored 26 points and Lou Williams had 21 for the struggling Sixers, who have lost all the momentum built during a torrid 11-4 March that shot them up the East standings.
Apr. 14: Wizards 117, Pacers 110
The AP reports: Despite the playoff implications of Monday’s game, Washington coach Eddie Jordan went to his bench early and often, getting 31 points from Roger Mason, 14 from rookie Nick Young and little resistance from the Pacers’ defense. Gilbert Arenas was given the night off and Caron Butler sat out with a bruised knee. The Wizards’ reserves outscored their starters 70-47. The disparity was even greater after DeShawn Stevenson left early in the second half with a sore back… “It’s disappointing,” said Mike Dunleavy, who scored 26 points… They weren’t missed. Mason was 7-for-9 on 3-pointers, rookie Dominic McGuire scored a career-high nine points, and Andray Blatche grabbed 11 rebounds as Washington dominated the boards 58-31.