CLEVELAND _ How Tristan Thompson fared with a brace on his sprained right thumb was the most significant subplot of the Cavaliers' regular-season finale Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors.
At least that's the way the defending NBA champion Cavs treated it in a 98-83 loss at Quicken Loans Arena.
Although the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs was on the line, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue sat the Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving (left knee tendinitis) and Kevin Love. James was listed with a right calf strain, but essentially was rested; he has not played in the season's last game since 2007.
What is more important is the team's health for the playoffs, so Lue conceded the top seed to the Boston Celtics, who hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. Although the Bucks rested their starters, the Celtics didn't put them away until the fourth quarter of a 112-94 victory that gave them a two-game cushion over the Cavs.
The Cavs (51-31) will face the Indiana Pacers in a first-round playoff series this weekend. The Pacers clinched the No. 7 seed with a rout of the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday.
The Raptors (51-31) had locked up the third seed in the East before tipoff by virtue of the Cavs winning the season series 3-1. Toronto played without Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan, sidelined with flu-like symptoms.
Thompson's performance was encouraging. After missing the previous four games, he finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 first-half minutes and hit 5-of-6 from the field.
The game may have also had significance for the Cavs' Kyle Korver, who hit one 3-pointer to move into fifth place on the NBA's all-time list with (2,049). He came in tied with Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford. Korver, who missed 11 games in March and April with a sore left foot, played only 11 minutes.
The Cavs finished with a franchise record 1,067 3-pointers despite hitting only 10 of 37 against the Raptors. They totaled 10 or more in a game 65 times, 15 or more 27 times and 20 or more four times.
Walter "Edy" Tavares and Dahntay Jones, both signed earlier in the day, saw action. From Toronto's D-League team, Tavares scored six points with 10 rebounds and six blocked shots in 24 minutes. Jones contributed nine points and two rebounds in 12 minutes in his first game this season.
But there was little about the game that mattered. For days if not weeks, the Cavs had longed for the playoffs to begin, especially during a season that James called "strange." They battled injuries that arose at seemingly every turn and robbed them of their rhythm.
In total, players missed 131 games because of injury or illness, counting Irving and Kay Felder (left ankle sprain) on Wednesday. They never regained their form from an NBA-best 9-2 February, going 12-15 after the All-Star break and 10-14 since March 1. They finished with four consecutive losses, their longest such string of the season. At times they have looked old and slow.
"I think we're ready to get this over with and then it will be go time," Love said after Monday's overtime loss in Miami.
Lue echoed those feelings before the game.
"I know we're capable of winning. It's enough talking, and the playoffs are here. We either got to put up or shut up, and I think we'll put up," Lue said.
But Lue wouldn't consider the regular season a failure, even though the Cavs didn't finish first in the East after leading most of the season and didn't make the improvements he sought down the stretch. Even on the final day of the regular season, they were signing their 21st and 22nd players to the 15-man roster.
"I feel good. As long as we're healthy, I think we can win," Lue said. "Health is the most important thing. We chased the No. 1 seed, we lost two games to Atlanta that we should've won, but we didn't, so now we're here. It's going to be a tough road whether you're first seed, second seed or third seed. The Eastern Conference had gotten better and we understand that. And we have to play better so we understand that. The challenge is here and we're up for the challenge."
Another thing they failed to learn was how to win without James, falling to 0-8 when the four-time league MVP sat this season and to 0-11 dating back to March of last season.
James became the first player in NBA history to average 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while shooting .540 percent or better from the field. He also finished with a career-best 13 triple-doubles and recorded 41 double-doubles. But there were lows, of which James was well aware. His free-throw percentage of .674 was his worst in 14 seasons and his turnover average of 4.1 the highest.
