Jordan finishes career with applause, loss

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Jordan played the last game of his illustrious career Wednesday night, receiving a lengthy standing ovation from nearly everyone in the arena — including the coaches and the other players.

Jordan soaked it all up with a wide smile and a wave to the crowd after exiting the game for good with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 107-87 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jordan finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes — drawing several adoring ovations from the last sellout crowd that will ever watch him play.

His final points almost looked scripted, with Eric Snow of the 76ers fouling Jordan in the backcourt, for no apparent reason except to send him to the line.

Both foul shots went in, and the Wizards committed a foul one second later so that Jordan could be removed from the game and receive the proper send-off. In a rare scene, the 10 players who remained on the court turned to Jordan and applauded, too.

Allen Iverson scored 35 points as the Sixers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

LAKERS 117, WARRIORS 111: At Oakland, Calif., Kobe Bryant scored 44 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 117-111 on Wednesday night, earning the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

Shaquille O'Neal recorded his 46th double-double of the season with 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who will face fourth-seeded Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs.

CLIPPERS 107, TRAIL BLAZERS 93: At Los Angeles, Lamar Odom had 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Portland 107-93 Wednesday night, dropping the playoff-bound Trail Blazers to sixth place in the Western Conference.

The loss means the Blazers will play Dallas in the first round.

CELTICS 99, PISTONS 92: At Boston, Tony Delk scored 17 points before sitting out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters as the Boston Celtics tuned up for the playoffs.

Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, will open the playoffs against Orlando. The Celtics had previously clinched 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.