Green led Boston (53-29) with 18 points and Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson each added 16.
For a majority of the year, point guard Isaiah Thomas hung around the NBA MVP conversation before a historic group took center stage. With DeRozan out, Norman Powell shined.
However, Stevens believes, regardless of seeding, the Cavaliers (51-30) are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
The Boston Celtics clinched the Atlantic Division title and kept alive their hopes for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 114-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
The Celtics will host the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls in the opening round of the playoffs.
This year's postseason participants are, for the most part, weaker overall - of the 16 teams, 11 are below the 10-year average. So much has been made of James' "switch" - he can coast through the regular season, because he saves his real work for the playoffs.
"I said the other day that the silver lining of the injuries we went through was everybody Saturday Avery missed nearly two months, Al missed 15 games, Jae missed 10 games". He played 23 minutes, sitting out the final quarter while a couple of "We want Melo!" As a team, the Celtics shot 45 percent from the field while holding the Nets to 36 percent shooting as they dominated the first half by 58-40 to put the game to bed early.
Boston split four games with the underperforming Bulls, who appeared to be preparing for next year when they packaged veterans Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott for second-year point guard Cameron Payne at the trade deadline. Thomas extended his club record with a 3-pointer in his 56th straight game.
The Mavericks won despite leaving starters Dirk Nowitzki, Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews at home. Robertson endorsed Westbrook for the Most Valuable Player award during a pregame ceremony on Wednesday. Horford grabbed eight rebounds and added four assists.
Scorpion stings United Airlines passenger
Demetrio acknowledged Dao could have chosen to comply with the airline and officers' instructions to leave the aircraft. A scorpion stung a United Airlines passenger flying from Houston to Calgary, Canada, a couple said.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Aaron Gordon had 32 points and 12 rebounds, Elfrid Payton scored 21 points and the Magic overcame a late-run by Detroit to win their season-finale. With eight minutes left in the game, the Bucks held a slight lead, 88-87.
Saturday, the Cavs open the playoff bonanza with a home game against Indiana.
Regular Season Results: Wizards won 3-1.
George Hill paced the Jazz with 20 points, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range, after being upgraded from questionable with a right groin strain.
The Jazz remain tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 seed for the Western Conference playoffs. The matchup is already set, the Clippers will face the Jazz in the first round, an interesting series featuring two of the best defensive big men in the National Basketball Association in Rudy Gobert and DeAndre Jordan. Only when they lost came the convenient narrative that they ran out of gas going for the single-season wins record.
Cavaliers: James averaged 26.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and a career-high 8.7 assists.
But the club's inconsistency and an outside belief they are vulnerable and can get knocked out before the Finals, Lue remains confident his team will step up when it matters most.
Klay Thompson scored 12 points as coach Steve Kerr rested Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green.
Comments