CLEVELAND, April 9, (AP): Carlos Boozer’s 24 points and 11 rebounds helped the Chicago Bulls clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 93-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA on Friday.
Chicago, which has won six straight and 18 of 20, will have home-court advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Bulls hadn’t finished with the best record in the East since 1997-98, the most recent of their six NBA championships in the Michael Jordan era.
Ronnie Brewer had 12 points while Derrick Rose added 11 points and eight assists for Chicago.
J.J. Hickson led Cleveland with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Celtics 104, Wizards 88
In Boston, Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 14 assists, and Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett also had double-doubles for Boston, which remains tied with Miami for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Pierce had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Garnett added 15 points and 11 boards.
Andray Blatche led the Wizards with 20 points and 10 rebounds, John Wall scored 20 and Jordan Crawford 19.

Heat 112, Bobcats 103
In Miami, Dwyane Wade returned from injury to score 27 to help Miami maintain its tie with Boston for second place in the East.
LeBron James added 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which won for the 12th time in 15 games and faces the Celtics on Sunday.
Kwame Brown finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.

Knicks 116, Nets 93
In Newark, New Jersey, Carmelo Anthony had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and New York ended a franchise-worst streak of nine straight losing seasons with its sixth consecutive victory.
Chauncey Billups added 22 points for the Knicks, who played without Amare Stoudemire. New York remains in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and completed its first season sweep of its cross-river rival since winning all three meetings in the shortened 1999 season.
Brook Lopez scored 27 points for the Nets, who were without All-Star guard Deron Williams.

76ers 98, Raptors 93
In Philadelphia, Elton Brand scored 22 points and Thaddeus Young added 20 to help Philadelphia snap a three-game losing streak.
Andre Iguodala scored 16 points for the Sixers, who could still finish sixth in the East. The Sixers have already clinched their first playoff appearance in two years. With 41 wins and two games left, the Sixers can finish with a winning record for the first time since 2004-05.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 27 points and Jerryd Bayless had 24.

Pacers 114, Hawks 102
In Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 28 points to help Indiana remain in the No. 8 playoff spot in the East.
Darren Collison had 16 points and 10 assists, and Roy Hibbert added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won five of six and ended a nine-game slide against Atlanta.
Jeff Teague scored 21 points and Joe Johnson added 17 for the Hawks, who lost their third straight and are fifth in the conference.

Pistons 110, Bucks 100
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chris Wilcox scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Detroit.
Rodney Stuckey added 22 points for the Pistons, including four straight free throws in the final minutes to help Detroit win its second straight.
Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 31 points and Ersan Ilyasova added 18 in his first action since a Feb. 26 concussion.

Mavericks 107, Clippers 96
In Dallas, Corey Brewer had 20 points and Peja Stojakovic scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter to help Dallas maintain its hold on the No. 3 spot in the West.
The Mavs had lost four straight since beating the Clippers a week ago Wednesday and would’ve slipped to the fourth seed with a loss. Dallas trailed by 16 in the first quarter, then took control with a 22-4 spurt in the third.
Mo Williams scored 29 points and Blake Griffin had 23 for Los Angeles.

Thunder 104, Nuggets 89
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 28 points and Oklahoma City beat Denver for their second win this week over a potential first-round playoff opponent.
Oklahoma City came in sitting in fourth in the West, with Denver fifth, and should be feeling confident if the teams meet in the postseason next week.
Nene had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton added 17 points apiece for Denver.

Hornets 109, Suns 97
In New Orleans, Willie Green hit his first 12 shots and finished with a season-high 31 points to lead New Orleans.
Green made a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. He made all five of his shots in the second, one in the third and five more in the first 6 minutes of the fourth.
Trevor Ariza added 21 points as the Hornets tied with Portland for sixth in the West.
Jared Dudley had 18 points for the Suns, who played without NBA assists leader Steve Nash.
Grizzlies 101, Kings 96
In Memphis, Tennessee, Zach Randolph had 27 points and 15 rebounds to help Memphis clinch the final playoff spot in the West, eliminating Houston from the race in the process.
Marc Gasol added 18 points for the Grizzlies, who head to the postseason for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Mike Conley finished with 12 points and eight assists.
Marcus Thornton led the Kings with 18 points, seven of them coming in the final 2:30 to keep the Grizzlies from celebrating too early.

Trail Blazers 93, Lakers 86
In Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help Portland prevent Los Angeles from locking up the second playoff seed in the West.
Gerald Wallace had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers, who remained in sixth spot in the conference as they jockey for playoff positioning with Memphis and New Orleans.
Kobe Bryant had 24 points for the Lakers, who lost their fourth straight and would have secured the No. 2 seed with a win and a Dallas loss. The Mavericks beat the Clippers 107-96.