Cavs ends regular season with win over the Bucks

For the playoffs, they are seeded No. 2 in the Eastern Conference.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cavaliers handed out more than 500,000 in free goodies to thank their fans, then flirted with giving away a crucial game.
LeBron James scored 24 points and capped a decisive run to open the fourth quarter with one of his powerhouse dunks, sending Cleveland to a 109-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in its regular season finale Wednesday night.
The Cavaliers (50-32) pulled away by outscoring the Bucks 12-3 to open the final period, giving Cleveland its second straight 50-win season and more momentum heading into this weekend's NBA playoffs.
They left the confetti-littered floor of Quicken Loans Arena not knowing who their opponent would be in the opening round. But a little more than an hour later, New Jersey beat Chicago, giving the Cavaliers the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup with Washington, the seventh seed.
The scenario could not have worked out better for the Cavs, who instead of meeting the defending champion Miami Heat in Round 1, will now face a depleted Wizards team missing stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler.
High scorers
Sasha Pavlovic scored 21 points, Donyell Marshall 14 and Anderson Varejao had 12 rebounds for the Cavs, who crushed the undermanned Bucks 53-30 on the boards.
Earl Boykins scored 28 and Ruben Patterson 19 to lead Milwaukee, which made the playoffs last season but had a promising 2006-07 season sabotaged by injuries.
James finished the regular season averaging 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists. He and Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson are the only players in league history to average at least 27-6-6 for three straight years.
And for the second year in a row, the 22-year-old is on his way to the playoffs.
After the Cavs left the court, several thousand of their fans stayed around to watch the Nets and Bulls finish up.
Unlike many of the playoff-bound teams, the Cavaliers couldn't afford to rest any of their starters with so much on the line. For a while, it looked like they forgot what they were playing for.
After blowing most of a 16-point lead, the Cavaliers opened the third quarter with an 18-7 blitz to lead 72-60. The Bucks, though, wouldn't go away and reeled off their own 12-2 spurt to get within 74-72 on Boykins' 3-pointer.
Leading by seven entering the fourth, the Cavs scored the first nine points of the period. James ended the run by making a steal near midcourt and blasting to the rim for a windmill dunk.
Down by 14 and in danger of being blown out, the Bucks outscored the Cavs 21-8 over a six-minute stretch of the second period, taking a 47-46 lead on two free throws by David Noel.
With Cavs coach Mike Brown standing with his hands on his hips in front of Cleveland's bench wondering what his team was doing, James responded by scoring six quick points and then fed Varejao for a dunk to give the Cavs a 54-51 halftime lead.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.