NBA Notebook | Celtics clinch first berth

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are in the playoffs. The Detroit Pistons aren't far behind.

Boston became the first NBA team to clinch a postseason berth, getting a season-high 31 points from Kevin Garnett on Wednesday night to earn a bruising 90-78 victory over Detroit, its closest competitor in the Eastern Conference.

"That's not what we want," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "That's nice, but last year it would have been a parade."

The Celtics missed the playoffs the last two seasons, but the arrival of Garnett and Ray Allen has raised expectations for the NBA's most-decorated franchise. Wednesday's victory gave them a 2-1 edge in the season series with Detroit. If the teams meet in the playoffs, Boston would have home-court advantage.

Kevin Johnson wants to be mayor of Sacramento

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson, 42, jumped into the Sacramento mayor's race Wednesday, announcing he will challenge three-term incumbent Heather Fargo in the municipal election in June.

Johnson is the only serious opponent to Fargo, who has governed the capital city as it has slid into a deep real estate slump.

Notes

• Dirk Nowitzki was suspended without pay for one game for his hard foul on Utah's Andrei Kirilenko. Nowitzki will miss the Dallas Mavericks' game at home tonight against the divisional rival Houston Rockets, who recently passed them in the tight Western Conference standings.

• Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace, the team's leading scorer at 20.6 points per game, could return from his fourth concussion in four years as soon as next week. Coach Sam Vincent said a target date for his return is March 12 at Dallas.

• The New Orleans Hornets formally welcomed back Chris "Birdman" Andersen on Wednesday after he spent more than two years sidelined because of a drug suspension. "A lot of people, when they fail, they stay there ... but the strong person always rises up after making a mistake or failing, and you have done just that," Hornets owner George Shinn told Andersen. "You will shine again."

Coach Byron Scott said the 6-foot-10 reserve would have to earn the trust of his teammates and prove himself in practice before he plays again.

• Stephon Marbury wants to finish his contract with the Knicks, and acknowledged being hurt recently when Isiah Thomas indicated he might have a different plan. Marbury, slated to make about $21 million next season, came to a game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night for the first time since having ankle surgery Jan. 22. He said he doubts he'll be able to return this season, but hopes he's still wearing a Knicks uniform in 2008-09. "I pray to God that's what happens," Marbury said

• New Orleans All-Star forward David West was a late scratch for the Hornets' game against Atlanta because of a sore left ankle.