INQUIRER Sports

LOS ANGELES -- After a bummer of a summer that included a referee betting scandal and Kobe Bryant's shenanigans, the National Basketball Association made up for it with a renaissance of a regular season.

The playoff picture took shape Wednesday as the six Western Conference seeds were determined on the final night.

With the summer doldrums out of the way it was up to the Boston Celtics to spark the league's revival by making a historic about-face in 2007-08. To top it off, the best teams in the Western Conference put on a remarkable display right down to the end.

In a preview of their opening series, Dallas beat New Orleans 111-98 Wednesday and San Antonio and Houston also posted victories to grab their spots in the Wild West.

LeBron James clinched the scoring title without even taking the court Wednesday as he sat out Cleveland's final game -- an 84-74 loss to Detroit.

But one of the biggest surprises this season was in the East where the Celtics registered an NBA record 42-win turnaround over last season thanks to the acquisition of all-stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Boston will open the playoffs at home against Atlanta and, with home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, will be in good shape to win its 17th NBA title.

The Celtics also compiled their third-best regular season in history.

The league's summer of calamity featured marquee player Bryant telling anyone who would listen how unhappy he was in Lakerland and a gambling probe of referee Tim Donaghy.

Donaghy was alleged to have bet on games and made calls affecting point spreads before being fired by the league.

The New Orleans Hornets were another pleasant surprise. Not content to just make the playoffs, the Hornets battled for the top seed in the West right down the stretch.

If the Hornets were the surprise then the Chicago Bulls were the disappointment of the season.

The Bulls were expected to challenge but instead they missed the playoffs and coach Scott Skiles was fired.