Monday, June 4 Season-ending loss cost Sixers homecourt edge Associated Press PHILADELPHIA -- Larry Brown shrugged off a loss to the last-place Chicago Bulls on the last day of the regular season. It's haunting the Philadelphia 76ers now. The Sixers, making their first trip to the NBA Finals in 18 years, would have had homecourt advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers if they had beaten Phil Jackson's old team on April 18. Instead, Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo sat out and Brown rested most of his other starters to prepare for the playoffs. It took a late 10-0 run for the Bulls, who finished with a league-worst 15-67 record, to beat Philadelphia's reserves 92-86. “ Them having the homecourt is just another adverse situation and we're motivated by that. ” — Sixers guard Aaron McKie The loss tied the Sixers with the Lakers at 56-26. Los Angeles got the homecourt edge on a tiebreaker -- better record against the opposite conference. As a result, Game 1 of the championship series is at the Staples Center on Wednesday night. After the loss to Chicago, Brown said he wasn't looking ahead to the finals, didn't want to risk injury to any of his key players and was more concerned with getting out of the East. The Sixers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 108-91 Sunday in Game 7 of the Eastern conference finals to advance to the championships for the first time since the 1982-83 season, the last time any franchise in Philadelphia won a title. Brown said Monday he doesn't have any regrets about the way he handled the Bulls' game. "I didn't rest the guys just to rest them," Brown said. "They were legitimately hurt. I'm not smart enough to plan that far ahead. If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it the same way." Iverson didn't play against the Bulls because he had been placed on the injured list with bursitis in his right elbow, an injury that continues to bother him and forces him to wear a protective sleeve on his arm. Mutombo had a sprained toe and missed his only game since coming to the Sixers in a trade on Feb. 22. Aaron McKie said the Sixers aren't worried about opening the series in Los Angeles because they're used to having a disadvantage. Philadelphia has overcome numerous injuries throughout the season, including a broken foot that has kept forward George Lynch out of the past 10 games. "Them having the homecourt is just another adverse situation and we're motivated by that," McKie said. The Sixers, coming off consecutive seven-game series, are running into a team that hasn't lost in more than two months. The Lakers have won 19 straight, including 11 playoff games. "When things don't look good, people count us out and that's when we pull together," McKie said. "We don't want to go out there just to be there. Our focus is to win the series. Whether it's here or there doesn't make a difference." Iverson, who has 70 points in his past five quarters, including 44 in Game 7 against the Bucks on Sunday, relishes Philadelphia's underdog status. "Everybody has counted us out and I feel good about that," Iverson said. "All the pressure is on them. It's like David vs. Goliath. Everybody picks the Lakers because they look like the sure shot and that's fine. That's fine with us. We like it that way." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

ALSO SEE May: Awed by Lakers? Not the Sixers Aldridge: Game is still for the fans Bell makes stunning impact for 76ers