Second-stringer Leon Powe scored a career-high 27 points, adding 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, and the Boston bench helped beat the New Jersey Nets 105-94 Wednesday night while the Celtics starters took it easy in their final tune-up before the playoffs. Tony Allen scored 18 for Boston, which finished 66-16 for the best record in the NBA.
The Celtics will play Atlanta, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, in the first round of the postseason. Richard Jefferson scored 24 points, and Nenad Krstic scored 13 with a season-high 12 rebounds. The Nets ended up 34-48, missing the playoffs for first time since 2001. Kevin Garnett scored eight points in 14 minutes and Paul Pierce scored seven in 17. (More basketball stories.)