INDIANAPOLIS – Ron Artest had 21 points and nine rebounds, Jermaine O’Neal had 16 points and seven assists and the Indiana Pacers clinched the Central Division title with a 111-78 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

The Pacers, an NBA-leading 55-20, secured homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs when they beat the Bucks for the first time in four tries this season.

It also allowed Rick Carlisle to join Pat Riley as the only coaches in NBA history to win a division title in each of their first three years coaching. Carlisle was tops in the division twice with Detroit before coming to Indiana this year.

The fact that all those accolades came with a win over the Bucks was that much sweeter for the Pacers.

Bulls 109, Magic 91

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jamal Crawford had 27 points and nine assists, and the short-handed Chicago Bulls snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Orlando Magic 109-91 Wednesday night in a game matching the teams with the NBA’s worst records.

Jannero Pargo added 25 points in his first start, and Eddy Curry had 24.

Chicago made nine 3-pointers and scored more than 100 points for just the seventh time this season. Three of those came while sweeping the Magic.

Pistons 108, Clippers 99

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Richard Hamilton had 28 points and a career-high five steals, and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 108-99 Wednesday night.

The Clippers led until the final moments of the third quarter before falling for the ninth straight time and 17th in 19 tries. Detroit has won 10 of 12.

Detroit played without Rasheed Wallace (back) for the second game in a row, while Los Angeles lost Corey Maggette to a strained hamstring in the first half.

Heat 100, Hawks 97

ATLANTA – Dwyane Wade made a go-ahead runner over Bob Sura to cap a frantic comeback in the final minute, and the Miami Heat held off the Atlanta Hawks 100-97.

The victory propelled the Heat into a tie with the Milwaukee Bucks for fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers 111-78.

Eddie Jones had 23 points and Lamar Odom added 21 before fouling out for Miami, which won for the ninth time in the past 10 games. Wade finished with 10.

Stephen Jackson scored 29 points and Jason Terry had 23 for the Hawks, who lost their second straight after only their second two-game winning streak of the season. They scored only one point in the final 3:30.

Nets 103, Wizards 99

WASHINGTON – Richard Jefferson had 28 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, and the New Jersey Nets broke a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a 103-99 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards.

Lucious Harris added a season-high 24 points, and Kerry Kittles scored 18 and helped forced overtime with a 3-pointer and a blocked shot in the final minute of regulation.

The Nets overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to provide an exciting finish to a game that included 46 turnovers and was missing major star-power.

Warriors 85, Raptors 78

TORONTO – Jason Richardson had 25 points and the Golden State Warriors handed the Toronto Raptors their fifth straight loss, 85-78 on Wednesday night.

Erick Dampier had 14 rebounds before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter after rolling his left ankle on the foot of Toronto’s Jalen Rose. Dampier stayed on the floor for several minutes before being helped off the court.

Vince Carter had 22 points for the Raptors, who were booed off the court.

T-wolves 90, Sonics 83

MINNEAPOLIS – Latrell Sprewell had 27 points, including six 3-pointers, to help the Minnesota Timberwolves hold off the Seattle SuperSonics 90-83 on Wednesday night.

Kevin Garnett had 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota, which maintained its tenuous lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division and remained in the hunt for the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Vitaly Potapenko had 18 points and nine rebounds.

and Rashard Lewis had 17 points for Seattle. Despite losing valuable reserve Vladimir Radmanovic to a sprained right ankle in the second quarter, the SuperSonics led briefly in the third and frustrated the Timberwolves by staying close the rest of the way.

Sprewell, who posted his highest scoring total in 12 games since getting 31 on March 9 at Seattle, put Minnesota up 82-74 on a 3-pointer with 2:44 left.

Lewis cut the lead to 84-79 on a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining, but Sprewell answered with another 3 to put the game safely away.

After scoring 119 points in a five-point loss at Denver the night before, the Sonics ended an awfully streaky month. They began March with six losses in a row, won seven straight and then closed with three consecutive defeats.

Seattle (34-41) saw its improbable playoff hopes take another hit, with only seven games left and no chance of finishing with a winning record.

The Sonics seemed to match the Wolves’ energy, though, which undoubtedly led to some of the second-half chippiness and angst on the Minnesota bench.

Garnett, peeved at Potapenko for fouling him in the third quarter, faked like he was going to dunk the ball on Potapenko’s head and both players picked up technicals after exchanging glares. Cassell and Michael Olowokandi also snipped at each other on the bench during a timeout in the third.

Garnett put the Wolves up 65-54 later in that period with the play of the game. Facing the wrong direction, he tossed a shot over his shoulder while being fouled by Potapenko. The ball bounced off the top of the backboard and fell in.

Sprewell made three straight 3-pointers late in the first quarter to extend Minnesota’s lead to 21-10, but the Sonics started stretching their offense out a bit and turning some sloppiness by the Timberwolves into easy points.

A dunk by Allen pulled Seattle within 25-24 early in the second period, but then the Sonics went 51/2 minutes without a basket and fell behind by 12.

Radmanovic was injured during that span, during which the Wolves scored 11 straight.

Notes: Radmanovic, taken to an undisclosed off-site location for further evaluation, lay on the court in pain during two possession changes until a dead ball allowed Seattle to sub for him. … Backup point guard Darrick Martin, who had two points in 11 minutes, began his second stint with Minnesota. He’s filling in – again – for the injured Troy Hudson. … Sonics backup C Jerome James, who was placed on the injured list Tuesday, sat out with an abdominal strain. He doesn’t have to sit out the required five games, however, because Seattle is carrying only 11 active players. … Garnett reached the 20-point mark for the 62nd time this season – breaking the franchise record shared previously by him and Tony Campbell.

AP-ES-03-31-04 2239EST