By The Associated Press

All Times EDT

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

W L Pct GBy-Boston 57 19 .750Philadelphia 38 35 .521 17½New Jersey 31 44 .413 25Toronto 29 45 .392 27New York 29 46 .387 27½Southeast Division

W L Pct GBy-Orlando 55 19 .743x-Atlanta 43 32 .573 12Miami 39 36 .520 16Charlotte 34 41 .453 21Washington 17 59 .224 39Central Division

W L Pct GBy-Cleveland 61 13 .824Detroit 36 39 .480 25Chicago 36 40 .474 26Indiana 32 43 .427 29Milwaukee 32 44 .421 30WESTERN CONFERENCESouthwest Division

W L Pct GBx-San Antonio 48 26 .649x-Houston 48 27 .640New Orleans 47 27 .635 1Dallas 45 30 .600 3Memphis 20 54 .270 28Northwest Division

W L Pct GBx-Denver 49 26 .653Portland 47 27 .635 1Utah 46 28 .622 2Oklahoma City 21 53 .284 27Minnesota 21 54 .280 28Pacific Division

W L Pct GBz-L.A. Lakers 59 16 .787Phoenix 41 34 .547 18Golden State 26 49 .347 33L.A. Clippers 18 57 .240 41Sacramento 16 58 .216 42½x-clinched playoff spoty-clinched divisionz-clinched conferenceWednesday's GamesToronto 99, Orlando 95New Jersey 111, Detroit 98Boston 111, Charlotte 109, 2OTMemphis 112, Washington 107L.A. Lakers 104, Milwaukee 98Dallas 98, Miami 96Phoenix 114, Houston 109New Orleans 104, L.A. Clippers 98Golden State 143, Sacramento 141, OTThursday's GamesMilwaukee at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.Cleveland at Washington, 8 p.m.Utah at Denver, 10:30 p.m.Friday's GamesMiami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.San Antonio at Indiana, 7 p.m.Atlanta at Boston, 7:30 p.m.Dallas at Memphis, 8 p.m.Cleveland at Orlando, 8 p.m.Portland at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.Minnesota at Utah, 9 p.m.Sacramento at Phoenix, 10 p.m.Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.New Orleans at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

SCOREBOARDThursday, April 2Utah at Denver (10:30 p.m. EDT). In a potential playoff preview, the Jazz get another chance to beat a top team on the road when they visit the Nuggets, who lead the Northwest Division by 1 games over Portland and 2 over Denver. The Jazz have lost 15 consecutive road games against teams with winning records.STARSWednesday• Monta Ellis, Warriors, scored a career-high 42 points as Golden State outlasted Sacramento 143-141 in overtime.• Kobe Bryant, Lakers, made his first seven shots and scored 30 points as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee 104-98.• Steve Nash, Suns, had 25 points and 17 assists to lead Phoenix over Houston 114-109.• Chris Paul, Hornets, had 30 points and 14 assists in New Orleans' 104-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.• Devin Harris, Nets, had 19 points and 11 assists as New Jersey snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Detroit 111-98.• Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks, scored 30 points as Dallas edged Miami 98-96.• Shawn Marion, Raptors, had 17 points and 15 rebounds in Toronto's 99-95 victory in Orlando.STRONG IN DEFEATKevin Martin scored a career-high 50 points for Sacramento, but the Kings lost 143-141 in overtime to Golden State. ... Milwaukee's Ramon Sessions had his first career triple-double, finishing with 16 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in the Bucks' 104-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Caron Butler had 31 points, while Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 10 rebounds in Washington's 112-107 loss in Memphis. ... Dwight Howard had 30 points and nine rebounds, but Orlando was knocked off 99-95 at home by Toronto. ... Gerald Wallace had 20 points and 10 rebounds as Charlotte lost 111-109 to Boston in double-overtime.ALLEN'S ANSWERLess than a minute after shooting an airball on an open 3-point attempt, Ray Allen was surprised to find himself open again in the closing seconds of the second overtime against Charlotte. Allen nailed that attempt with 2.1 seconds left, giving the Celtics a 111-109 victory over Charlotte. Allen finished with 22 points, while Paul Pierce scored 32.THE COUCH OVER THE BENCHAllen Iverson, frustrated with his playing time since returning from a back injury, said he would rather retire than be a full-time reserve next season. After playing only 18 minutes Tuesday in a loss to Cleveland, Iverson was on the floor for 17 Wednesday in a 111-98 loss in New Jersey. "I'd rather retire before I do this again," Iverson said. "I can't be effective playing this way. I'm not used to it. It's tough for me both mentally and physically. If I'm able to go out there, I should be able to get it done and I can't right now. It's my fault. I have to be able to overcome the adversity and do what I have to do. I just have to find a way to get it done. Not being 100 percent makes it harder and you can see that I'm not 100 percent."HEY, HAYWOOD!Washington's Brendan Haywood played in his first game this season after surgery on his right wrist last October. The 7-foot center played 24 minutes and had two points, missing five of his six shots from the field, in the Wizards' 112-107 loss in Memphis.SPEAKING"It's totally different from what we're used to here. Our record is not good and we're not playing well. I can't compare this to anything else. We just have to find a way to win and it's just not happening. We have to come out and win games." Detroit's Richard Hamilton after the Pistons' 111-98 loss in New Jersey, their eighth defeat in 11 games.

By The Associated PressAll Times EDTFINAL FOURAt Ford FieldDetroitNational SemifinalsSaturday, April 4Michigan State (30-6) vs. Connecticut (31-4), 6:07 p.m.Villanova (30-7) vs. North Carolina (32-4), 8:47 p.m.National ChampionshipMonday, April 6Semifinal winners

By The Associated PressAll Times EDTSemifinalsTuesday, March 31At Madison Square GardenNew YorkSemifinalsBaylor 76, San Diego State 62Penn State 67, Notre Dame 59ChampionshipThursday, April 2Baylor (24-14) vs. Penn State (26-11), 7 p.m.