Tony Delk scored 17 points before sitting out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters as the Celtics beat the Pistons 99-92 in a tune up for the NBA playoffs.

　　Detroit, the No 1 seed in the East, will open the play-offs against Orlando. The Celtics had previously clin-ched the sixth spot in the East, and they will play at Indiana.

　　Mark Blount came off the bench to score 11 points and grab nine rebounds for Boston.

　　Danny Manning scored 18 and Mehmet Okur had nine rebounds for the Pistons.

　　In Denver, Steve Francis had 17 points and nine assists, and Chinese rookie Yao Ming had 13 points and 16 rebounds as Houston beat Denver 89-84.

　　Houston won three straight games and five of their last seven to close out the season, but missed the playoffs for the fourth successive year.

　　The Nuggets tied Cleve-land for the worst record in the NBA and will have an equal shot with the Cavaliers at the top pick in this year's draft.

　　In Cleveland, rookie Tierre Brown had 16 points and nine assists as the Cavaliers beat Toronto 96-86 in what was likely Lenny Wilkens' last game as coach of the Raptors. The 65-year-old coach is expected to be fired by Toronto general manager Glen Grunwald.

　　Wilkens, the league's career leader in coaching victories and losses (1,292-1,114) rarely had a full roster to work with this season as the Raptors were ravaged by injuries.

　　In Milwaukee, Tim Thomas scored 21 points and Desmond Mason had 19 as Milwaukee beat Orlando 93-87 for its eighth win in nine games.

　　The Bucks secured the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and will face New Jersey in the first round of the playoffs. Michael Redd added 18 points for the Bucks and Mason finished with 11 assists.

　　In Indianapolis, Al Harrington finished one assist short of his first triple-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, as Indiana beat New Jersey 90-83 to secure third place in the East.

　　In New Orleans, Baron Davis scored 21 points as New Orleans defeated Atlanta 92-77 to finish the regular season with a five-game winning streak. Jamal Mashburn had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career triple-double.

　　In other NBA action, Timberwolves 95, Grizzlies 87; Mavericks 93, Spurs 72; SuperSonics 84, Suns 70; Kings 95, Jazz 84; Clippers 107, Trail Blazers 93; and Lakers 117, Warriors 111.