The AP reports: Josh Smith scored 30 points and Joe Johnson had 24 to help the Hawks clinch the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 122-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Al Horford finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Hawks earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta needed either a win or a loss by Miami, which fell by seven in Boston, to wrap up the No. 4 spot… Danny Granger had 35 points to lead the Pacers in scoring for the eighth straight game. Jarrett Jack, who finished with 17, matched Indiana’s biggest lead at seven midway through the third, but the Hawks never trailed after Johnson hit two free throws to make it 76-74 with 4:04 left in the quarter.
Day: April 11, 2009
Celtics go to wire before beating Heat 105-98
The AP reports: Paul Pierce spent part of the week looking over the schedule, counting the missed opportunities that cost the Celtics a chance to repeat as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. There was a loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Another to the Trail Blazers when Brandon Roy was out… Pierce scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half, including the go-ahead free throws with 97 seconds left to help the Celtics earn their sixth straight win… Rajon Rondo had seven points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for Boston, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 22 points with eight rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half, adding nine assists, to help the Heat tie it 95-all with just under 2 minutes left. But Boston scored the next eight points to pull away.
Cavaliers beat 76ers to clinch No. 1 spot in East
The AP reports: LeBron James had 27 points and 10 assists, Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 18 and the Cavaliers beat the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 102-92 Friday night to clinch home-court advantage in the Eastern conference playoffs… Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 26. The Sixers (40-39) have lost four straight since clinching a playoff berth. They remained one game behind Miami for fifth place in the East… Andre Miller and Lou Williams each scored 17 for Philadelphia, and Mo Williams had 18 for the Cavs.