Timberwolves Get Home-Court Edge

Kevin Garnett made sure the Minnesota Timberwolves earned the best playoff position in franchise history.

Garnett had 19 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists as Minnesota clinched home-court advantage for the opening round of the playoffs for the first time with a 95-87 win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Memphis, Tenn.

“Our goal was to get the home-court advantage all year and we accomplished that,” Minnesota’s Wally Szczerbiak said.

Minnesota (51-31) earned the fourth seeding in the Western Conference and will open the playoffs at home against the Lakers. The Timberwolves have never made it to the second round, getting eliminated six times in a row.

Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders said playing at home is a definite benefit.

“We have the second-best home record [in the league]. We are 33-8,” Saunders said. “We’ve won 23 of our last 26 at home and we have a streak of 17 in there. To us, we have a comfort level there.”

Milwaukee 93, Orlando 87 -- Tim Thomas scored 21 points and Desmond Mason had 19 at Milwaukee as the Bucks won for the eighth time in nine games and secured the seventh seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Neither Sam Cassell of Milwaukee nor Magic star Tracy McGrady dressed for the game as they rested up for the playoffs.

The Bucks will open the playoffs at New Jersey and the eighth-seeded Magic will begin them at Detroit.

Indiana 90, New Jersey 83 -- Al Harrington finished one assist shy of his first triple-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds at Indianapolis as the Pacers secured third place in the Eastern Conference.

Jermaine O’Neal had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, which will open the playoffs at home against the Boston Celtics.

New Orleans 92, Atlanta 77 -- Baron Davis scored 21 points at New Orleans as the Hornets ended the season on a five-game winning streak to finish fifth in the East.

Jamal Mashburn had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third triple-double. The Hornets will open the playoffs at Philadelphia.

Dallas 93, San Antonio 72 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points at San Antonio to lead the Mavericks to their first 60-win season.

The victory ensured that Dallas, the third-seeded team in the West, will have home-court advantage if it reaches the second round of the playoffs. The Spurs clinched the best record in the league Monday and played without Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson.

Sacramento 95, Utah 84 -- Chris Webber scored 15 points at Sacramento in a low-key preview of their first-round playoff series.

Boston 99, Detroit 92 -- Tony Delk scored 17 points at Boston before sitting out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters as the Celtics tuned up for the playoffs. The Celtics had previously clinched the sixth spot in the East.

Seattle 84, Phoenix 70 -- Ray Allen scored 19 points at Seattle to lead the SuperSonics past the Suns, who rested most of their starting lineup in preparation for facing top-seeded San Antonio in the playoffs.

Houston 89, Denver 84 -- Steve Francis had 17 points and nine assists as the visiting Rockets won their season finale, but missed the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The Nuggets tied Cleveland for the worst record in the NBA.

Cleveland 96, Toronto 86 -- Rookie Tierre Brown had 16 points as the Cavaliers won at Cleveland in what was likely Lenny Wilkens’ last game as coach of the Raptors. Wilkens, 65, is expected to be fired by the team.