INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James expects to rest during Cleveland's regular-season finale, a well-earned reward for leading the Cavaliers to home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

James scored 37 points as Cleveland beat the Indiana Pacers, 117-109, last night to clinch the league's best record at 66-15.

"It's one step, however, it's a big step," James said. "When you consider all the great teams, all the great players, all the great coaches and all the great systems that are in the NBA, for us to finish with the best record is a tremendous feat. And that is something the franchise should be proud of."

With his team having clinched the top record with a game to spare, coach Mike Brown will likely make James and other key players spectators against Philadelphia — even though it could cost the Cavs a shot at more NBA history.

A win by the Cavaliers tomorrow would tie them for the NBA record for best home mark, 40-1, set by the Boston Celtics in 1985-86. James isn't worried about it.

"We've got to do what's best for the ring," he said. "We've got home-court advantage already. We're not fighting for breaking a record anymore. We're fighting for that ring."

NUGGETS 118, KINGS 98:

J.R. Smith's career-high 45 points and franchise-best 11 3-pointers helped host Denver (54-27) clinch the Northwest Division title and home-court edge in a playoff series for the first time in 21 years by beating Sacramento.

RAPTORS 97, WIZARDS 96:

Chris Bosh made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left as Toronto beat host Washington. Trailing 93-80 with 6:30 remaining, Toronto outscored Washington 17-3 to pull off the win.

NETS 91, BOBCATS 87:

Jarvis Hayes hit two late 3-pointers in a 37-second span, including the go-ahead shot with 1:44 left, and host New Jersey rallied from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Charlotte.

BULLS 91, PISTONS 88:

Ben Gordon made a tiebreaking layup with 15 seconds left, and Chicago (41-40) locked host Detroit (39-42) into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

JAZZ 106, CLIPPERS 85:

Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and host Utah snapped a three-game losing streak to keep alive its slim hopes of climbing out of the No. 8 seed in the West.

TRAIL BLAZERS 113, THUNDER 83:

Travis Outlaw had 21 points as a last-minute starter, Brandon Roy added 20 points, and Greg Oden had 16 points and nine rebounds as host Portland built a 35-point lead in defeating Oklahoma City.

SPURS 101, WARRIORS 72:

Tony Parker scored 17 points, and Tim Duncan added 16 points and 13 rebounds before both stars sat out the fourth quarter, and San Antonio kept pace with Houston atop the Southwest by beating host Golden State.

BUCKS 98, MAGIC 80:

Richard Jefferson scored 24 points as host Milwaukee beat an Orlando team missing Dwight Howard (dress code) and injured starters Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.

ROCKETS 86, HORNETS 66:

Yao Ming scored 22 points, Luis Scola grabbed 15 rebounds and host Houston moved within one win of the Southwest Division title by beating New Orleans.

SUNS 119, GRIZZLIES 110:

Shaquille O'Neal hit four late field goals and rookie Robin Lopez tied his career high with 14 points, helping Phoenix to its eighth consecutive home victory by beating Memphis.

MAVERICKS 96, TIMBERWOLVES 94:

Jason Terry hit an 18-foot jumper from the right side with 0.2 seconds left to lift host Dallas over Minnesota.