Bucks Stop Wizards

The playoffs are all about momentum, and not many teams have more of it than the Milwaukee Bucks.

Scott Williams had 19 points and Vinny Del Negro scored eight of his 16 in the final four minutes as the Bucks finished the regular season by rallying for a 110-105 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Milwaukee played reserves most of the night, having clinched its second straight playoff berth two nights earlier with a victory over the Orlando Magic. Detroit's 112-91 win over Chicago on Wednesday night kept the Bucks in the No. 8 seed in the East.

But the Bucks say they're different now.

"The starters were complaining to me that I wasn't trying to win the game, but in the end I felt the guys on the court deserved the right to play and to try to win, which they did," Milwaukee coach George Karl said.

Milwaukee enters its first-round matchup with the top-seeded Indiana Pacers on a three-game winning streak.

"You don't want to lose a game like this, because it can set a good tone or a bad tone for the playoffs," Sam Cassell said. "We dug down deep and won a game that didn't mean a lot in the standings. This was important, because it means we're a hot team going into the postseason."

Milwaukee (42-40) won 11 of 15 games to close the season, posting an 8-3 record in pril while streaking past Orlando for the final playoff spot. The Bucks, who last year snapped a streak of seven consecutive seasons out of the playoffs, finished with a winning record for the first time since 1990-91.

Ray Allen, who sprained his left knee against Orlando, didn't let the minor injury end his streak of 296 consecutive games played. Allen, who hasn't missed a game in his four-year NBA career, started the game and played six minutes, scoring five points and even dunking off the injured leg.

"It's a little tender, but it's OK," Allen said. "I wanted to play tonight becuase if I hadn't played, there would be some uncertainty going into the playoffs."

The Wizards (29-53) ended another lost season with a solid effort but another defeat. Washington's winning percentage decreased for the third straight season, and the Wizards lost five of six, including three straight, to close the year.

Interim coach Darrell Walker, who doesn't know whether team president Michael Jordan will retain his services next year, finished with a 15-23 record.

"I don't have a clue (what will happen)," Walker said. "Everybody knows I'm a legitimate NBA coach. We'll just see what happens. ... I'll make my evaluation to Michael on what I feel, and they can take it from there."

Washington gave several glimpses of the tough, offensively talented team its expensive roster suggests but never became. Richmond hit four 3-pointers and scored 27 points in another outstanding performance, Chris Whitney had four more 3-pointers in his 22 points and Bucks-killer Tracy Murray had 15 off the bench.

"It's a very, very disappointing season," Murray said. "We go back to the drawing board, work this summer and come back ready."

Murray hit a layup with 4:55 to play that gave the Wizards a 95-93 lead, their first of the game. The teams traded baskets until Del Negro hit two free throws and a fallaway jumper that put Milwaukee up 103-99 with three minutes left.

Del Negro hit another jumper, and Robert Traylor put the game away with a three-point play with 32 seconds left. Williams led six Bucks in double figures, and Tim Thomas added 15 points.

"It was nice for me to get out there and take some of Ray's shots," Williams said with a grin. "This was a great way to go into the playoffs, because if our confidence is up, we can cause some havoc."

The teams played a thrilling double-overtime game at the Bradey Center in January, which was won on Williams' layup with two-tenths of a second to play. Milwaukee also beat Washington on Saturday night in a 120-116 overtime game.

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