With a seemingly half-hearted showing in their final regular-season game, the Atlanta Hawks lost, 109-98, to a bunch of backups for the Wizards in Washington on Wednesday night and wound up with the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta finished 48-34 — the same record as the Miami Heat, who lost, 98-88, at Boston but owned the tiebreaker over the Hawks and so earned the No. 3 seed.
Because of Miami’s loss, Atlanta would have moved up to No. 3 with a victory. Instead, the Hawks dropped their second game in a row and will face the fifth-seeded Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Atlanta did not hold a shootaround Wednesday morning, but otherwise did not take it easy, playing its usual lineup at the start of the game and for much of the fourth quarter. But the Hawks made only 39.5 percent of their shots against Washington.
Al Horford led the Hawks with 19 points, and Paul Millsap added 13.
Ramon Sessions, one of four reserves who started for Washington, scored 22 points.
The Wizards already were eliminated from playoff contention last week and four of their regular starters sat out Wednesday: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, and Markieff Morris.
Magic 117, Hornets 103 — Al Jefferson scored 26 points as playoff-bound Charlotte closed out its best regular season in 16 years (48-34) with a win over visiting Orlando.
The Hornets are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the third-seeded Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
Rockets 116, Kings 81 — James Harden scored 38 points and host Houston clinched the eighth final Western Conference playoff spot with an easy victory over Sacramento.
Ben McLemore had 24 points for the Kings, in what was likely coach George Karl’s final game with the team amid reports that he could be fired as soon as Thursday.
Pacers 97, Bucks 92 — Solomon Hill scored a season-high 25 points, and Indiana beat host Milwaukee despite resting four starters.
With the Pacers locked into a first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors, coach Frank Vogel sat starters, including Paul George and Monta Ellis.
Raptors 103, Nets 96 — Rookie Norman Powell scored a career-high 30 points and visiting Toronto wrapped up the best regular season (56-26) in franchise history by beating Brooklyn.
With the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference already secured, the Raptors didn't even bring All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, plus Jonas Valanciunas, James Johnson and DeMarre Carroll to the game.
Bulls 115, 76ers 105 — Nikola Mirotic scored 32 points, Justin Holliday added a career-high 29, and host Chicago closed a disappointing season by beating lowly Philadelphia.
The Bulls wiped out an early 24-point deficit and led by as much as 19 to close out a less-than-golden 50th season on a winning note.
Pistons 112, Cavaliers 110 — Starters for both teams rested for their first-round playoff matchup as Jodie Meeks scored 20 to lead visiting Detroit past Cleveland in overtime.
Timberwolves 144, Pelicans 109 — Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 14 rebounds and host Minnesota routed New Orleans in coach Sam Mitchell’s last game.
