Bulls fall to fifth in East, get rematch with Heat

Vince Carter is headed back to Toronto, and Chicago was left with an unwanted rematch against Miami.

Carter had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the New Jersey Nets past the visiting Bulls, 106-97, Wednesday night, clinching the No. 6 seeding in the Eastern Conference and preventing Chicago from finishing second.

New Jersey will open the playoffs against the Atlantic Division champion and third-seeded Raptors in Toronto, where Carter -- a former Raptor -- is likely to hear boos every time he touches the ball.

A Chicago victory would have set up a Bulls-Nets series in the first round. Instead, the Bulls fell to the No. 5 seeding and will open the postseason against the defending champion Heat, albeit with the home-court advantage.

Despite the Bulls’ winning 49 games, the word “frustrating” was spoken by almost every player in the Chicago locker room.

“We have to put this one behind us and get ready for the playoffs,” guard Ben Gordon said. “There is nothing we can do about it now. We had our chance.”

Now, the Bulls draw the Heat in a rematch of last year’s first-round series, won by Miami in six games.

Kirk Hinrich had 20 points for the Bulls, who never overcame an early 15-point deficit.

“We can’t hang our heads about not getting the 2 seed,” Hinrich said. “We have to try to shake this off and stay in positive spirits.”

Cleveland 109, Milwaukee 96 -- The Cavaliers capitalized on Chicago’s loss to vault into the No. 2 spot behind LeBron James’ 24 points, meaning they will face seventh-seeded Washington without Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler instead of Miami in the first round of the playoffs.

Washington 98, Indiana 95 -- The Wizards won for only the second time in 10 games in beating the Pacers (35-47), who finished with their worst record since the 1996-97 season.

Orlando 94, Miami 68 -- Resting Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade for the playoffs, the visiting Heat fell to the Magic, which remained the eighth-seeded team in the East.

New York 94, Charlotte 93 -- The visiting Knicks (33-49) avoided their second straight 50-loss season by spoiling Bobcats Coach Bernie Bickerstaff’s final game. Bickerstaff, expected to stay in the Bobcats’ front office, was 77-169 as coach.

Philadelphia 122, Toronto 119 -- Raptors rookie Andrea Bargnani had 17 points in a loss to the 76ers at Toronto, his first game after sitting out 14 because of an appendectomy.

Detroit 91, Boston 89 -- Playing without three starters, the visiting Pistons beat the Celtics, who finished with the worst record in the East (24-58) and second-worst in the NBA.

Dallas 106, Seattle 75 -- One day after resting them, the Mavericks played their usual starters in beating the host SuperSonics, who posted their worst record (31-51) since finishing the 1985-86 season with the same record.

Denver 100, San Antonio 77 -- With both teams playing without any key starters, the visiting Nuggets prevailed in a game that was more of a tuneup than a preview of their first-round playoff series.

Utah 101, Houston 91 -- The Jazz beat the visiting Rockets, playing without Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, in a preview of their first-round series.

Memphis 116, Minnesota 94 -- The league-worst Grizzlies (22-60) ensured that the visiting Timberwolves would finish in the bottom seven and keep their lottery pick. If they hadn’t guaranteed a top-10 pick in the draft, Minnesota (32-50) would have had to give it to the Clippers as part of the Sam Cassell-Marko Jaric trade two years ago.