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Wednesday, Apr. 18 7:00pm ET
Sixers rest Iverson, Mutombo in trivial finale

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia 76ers just wanted to stay healthy. The Chicago Bulls just wanted a victory.

Elton Brand scored 31 points and Fred Hoiberg added 18 as the Bulls used a late 10-0 run to beat Philadelphia's reserves 92-86 in their regular season finale Wednesday night.

The Sixers played without Allen Iverson, the NBA's leading scorer, and Dikembe Mutombo, the league's top rebounder. Both were placed on the injured list to rest for the playoffs.

"Obviously we played a team who was getting ready for the playoffs, but it was still a good win," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "It's a nice way to end the season. We'll keep things in perspective, but winning our last three road games helps the confidence."

Chicago finished another dismal season at 15-67, worst record in the NBA. Philadelphia, which clinched first place in the Eastern Conference last week, finished at 56-26, its best record since winning 58 games in 1984-85.

"We just wanted to go out, execute and make sure nobody got hurt," Sixers forward George Lynch said.

Todd MacCulloch scored a career-high 21 points and Lynch added 14 for the Sixers, who meet the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday.

"I tried to play everybody," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "We wanted to give everybody a chance and I didn't want to change the lineup. I wanted to get some people ready. I wasn't going to play Allen, Dikembe or Tyrone (Hill)."

Philadelphia overcame a 12-point, third-quarter deficit by outscoring the Bulls 12-4 to end the quarter. The Sixers then scored nine straight to open the fourth, including a 3-pointer by Rodney Buford that made it 70-69.

But Hoiberg nailed a 3-pointer to tie it at 80 with 4:40 left, and the Bulls scored 10 in a row after a jumper by Buford and a free throw by Kevin Ollie.

Marcus Fizer's jumper gave Chicago the lead for good, 84-83, with 1:38 left. Brand made it 86-83 with a driving layup. After Buford missed a 3-pointer, Brand hit two free throws and the Bulls iced it at the foul line.

"The fourth quarter has been a problem for us all year," Brand said. "To finish it off tonight like we did was real important."

Chicago ended the season with just their second two-game winning streak.

"We were saying, 'Let's just have fun,"' Bulls center Brad Miller said. "Forget the records. Philly didn't play their bug guys and the few that played didn't play a lot of minutes, but it doesn't matter to us because we need every win for our confidence going into the summer."

Game notes
Brown fell one victory shy of his best winning percentage in his 18 years as an NBA coach. Brown went 56-26 with San Antonio Spurs in 1989-90. His best season as a coach was 1974-75 when he was 65-19 with the Denver in the ABA. ... In a skit shown on the arena's video screen during a timeout in the third period, Iverson appeared on ABC's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and correctly answered Regis Philbin's question, asking which team won the Atlantic Division for the first time in more than a decade. ... Jumaine Jones, coming off a career-best 26-point performance, had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sixers. ... The loss cost Philadelphia home-court advantage against the Lakers should both teams reach the finals.

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Charlotte 97
Boston 92

Chicago 92
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Toronto 98
Washington 92

Indiana 105
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Miami 103
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