Hornets Force 76ers to Do Some Packing

The Charlotte Hornets are staying home this weekend instead of flying to Philadelphia to begin the playoffs.

Charlotte clinched the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs Wednesday night with an 83-73 win over the Miami Heat that denied Pat Riley his 1,000th coaching victory.

The Hornets, who will have homecourt advantage in their best-of-five series against the 76ers, were in seventh place in the Eastern Conference on March 20. They won 14 of their last 16 games and seven in a row to move up in the standings.

Detroit 112, Chicago 91--The Pistons locked up the seventh seed in the East as Jerry Stackhouse had 21 points and seven assists and Jud Buechler added a season-high 14 points in the Pistons’ victory over the Bulls at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Forward Grant Hill didn’t play for the third consecutive game because of a bone bruise in his left ankle.

Dallas 113, Minnesota 107--Steve Nash had 22 points and 10 assists as the Mavericks beat the shorthanded Timberwolves at Minneapolis to finish with 11 victories in their final 13 games.

The Timberwolves, who finished 50-32 for the best record in franchise history, rested Kevin Garnett and Terrell Brandon for the playoffs.

Utah 95, Sacramento 86--Jeff Hornacek concluded the final regular season of his 14-season NBA career by scoring 18 points, and Karl Malone also had 18 as the Jazz won at Salt Lake City.

Milwaukee 110, Washington 105--Scott Williams had 19 points as the Bucks won at Milwaukee.

Orlando 106, Toronto 100--Ron Mercer scored 27 points and Darrell Armstrong had 22 as the Magic ended its season with a victory over the playoff-bound Raptors at Orlando, Fla.

Boston 112, New York 85--Taking advantage of the Knicks’ resting their starters for the playoffs, the Celtics ended their seventh consecutive losing season on a high note at Boston.

Cleveland 111, New Jersey 108--Lamond Murray made a go-ahead three-point shot with 11.9 seconds to play and the visiting Cavaliers scored the final six points to beat the Nets in what was likely Don Casey’s final game as New Jersey coach.

Indiana 111, Atlanta 92--Jalen Rose scored 19 points as the Pacers closed out their regular season by beating the visiting Hawks. Indiana Coach Larry Bird played his starters in the first and third quarters only, yet the Pacers never trailed.

Denver 96, Portland 95--Nick Van Exel made a 21-foot jumper with 1.7 seconds left as the Nuggets completed a poor season by defeating the Trail Blazers at Portland.

Phoenix 99, Golden State 88--Cliff Robinson scored 23 points as the Suns won at Oakland. Before the game, the Warriors signed General Manager Garry St. Jean to a multiyear contract extension. St. Jean had coached the team since the February firing of P.J. Carlesimo. Dave Cowens will replace him as coach next season.