Ben Simmons had a quiet, easy night as his Philadelphia 76ers stormed into the NBA playoffs by claiming the Eastern Conference third seeding with a 130-95 demolition of Matthew Dellavedova's Milwaukee Bucks.
The rout in Philadelphia on Wednesday's last night of the regular season delivers the 76ers a first-round series against sixth-seeded Miami Heat.
The 76ers enter the playoffs at the weekend on a franchise record 16-game winning streak.
Their third-place seeding in the East marks a phenomenal rise for a franchise that has been among the worst in recent years in the NBA.
"I want them to enjoy it, take a deep breath and reload," said former Australian Olympic and NBL coach Brett Brown, who has patiently resurrected the 76ers through the darkest years.
Philadelphia fans chanted "Trust the Process! Trust the Process!" during the victory to honour the once-maligned losing strategy that allowed team management to draft top prospects including Simmons, Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz.
The 76ers were without injured All-Star centre Embiid and three-point specialist JJ Redick, who had back tightness, against the Bucks.
Likely NBA rookie of the year Simmons played just 22 minutes while logging four points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The 76ers' other rookie, 19-year-old point guard Fultz, stepped up to became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
Embiid, still recovering from a face fracture, expects to sit out game one against the Heat and he has tested a face mask in practice.
The 76ers clash marked Dellavedova's return after the tough Australian guard had sat out the Bucks' previous 29 games with an ankle injury.
He went scoreless, missing three field-goal attempts, in 10 minutes on court, while his Australian teammate Thon Maker had three points.
The Bucks' loss dropped them to the seventh playoff slot in the East to face Aron Baynes' second-placed Boston Celtics.
Baynes had a career-best 26 points and 14 rebounds in leading the Celtics to a 110-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Baynes ran riot as the Celtics rested most of their starters, with nine of the Queenslander's rebounds on the offensive end that often led to easy baskets.
Joe Ingles, Dante Exum and their Utah Jazz lost a high-stakes clash to Portland.
The Trail Blazers won 102-93 in Portland and claimed the third seed in the West.
The Jazz slipped from third to fifth and crucially lost home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs in which they face a tough Oklahoma City Thunder, who boast the NBA's most-parochial crowd.
Ingles had five points, including just one three-pointer from two attempts, and Exum had six points and three assists.
Patty Mills' San Antonio Spurs finished in seventh spot in the West after losing to the New Orleans Pelicans 122-98.
The Spurs face the reigning, but injury-plagued, NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the first round.
The other West playoff match-up is the top-seeded Houston Rockets against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who defeated the Denver Nuggets to clinch the eighth spot.
The Toronto Raptors are the top seed in the East and play the Washington Wizards, while LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers finished fourth in the East and take on the Indiana Pacers.
NBA PLAYOFF FIRST-ROUND MATCH UPS:
Western Conference:
* 1-Houston Rockets v 8 Minnesota Timberwolves
* 2-Golden State Warriors v 7-San Antonio Spurs
* 3-Portland Trail Blazers v 6-New Orleans Pelicans
* 4-Oklahoma City Thunder v 5-Utah Jazz
Eastern Conference:
* 1-Toronto Raptors v 8-Washington Wizards
* 2-Boston Celtics v 7-Milwaukee Bucks
* 3-Philadelphia 76ers v 6-Miami Heat
* 4-Cleveland Cavaliers v 5-Indiana Pacers
