PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid's achy left knee may prevent the All-Star from playing in the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff opener.

General manager Elton Brand said Wednesday that Embiid was expected to play in the postseason, but added it was "possible" the 7-foot center wouldn't be ready for the first game. Embiid sat out Wednesday's regular-season finale against Chicago, his fifth absence in seven games to close out the season.

Embiid is averaging 27.5 points and 13.6 rebounds but has missed 14 games since the All-Star break due to rest and injury.

Philadelphia, the No. 3 seed, will play either Orlando or Brooklyn in the first round of the playoffs.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant picked up his 16th technical foul during the first quarter of Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies, but he will not be suspended because the amount of technical fouls does not carry over into the postseason.

The technical foul was called with 9:39 left in the first quarter, leaving both Durant and Warriors coach Steve Kerr perplexed as to why referee Kane Fitzgerald blew the whistle.

"[Fitzgerald] said I bumped into him after I was walking back to the scorer's table," Durant explained after the game. "I did bump into him, but it wasn't intentionally, and I was going to wipe my feet off. He thought I was following him to the scorer's table. But you guys see I wipe my foot off after every stop of play.

"So, it was miscommunication; we talked about it and said he was going to look at it. I'm sure he's going to send it in to the league to get that rescinded."

After the technical foul was initially called, Kerr immediately turned to Warriors senior vice president of communications Raymond Ridder sitting courtside and asked, "Is he going to get suspended?" Ridder shook his head no, giving Kerr and the Warriors peace of mind heading into Game 1 of the postseason this weekend.

Durant, along with Kerr, spent the ensuing timeout in a long discussion with Fitzgerald about why the technical foul was called. Durant and Fitzgerald had a cordial back-and-forth, but Durant clearly was frustrated that the T was called in the first place.

Durant said he was never concerned about a possible suspension.

"I knew it starts over in the playoffs," Durant said. "And I kind of figured [Fitzgerald] would rescind that one anyway, so I wasn't too nervous."

Durant, who sat out Tuesday's win at the New Orleans Pelicans because of the flu, finished with 21 points and six assists in 18 minutes against the Grizzles.

The Warriors lost 132-117 and finished the regular season at 57-25, the best record in the Western Conference. They will begin a first-round playoff series this weekend at home against the LA Clippers.

In a significant blow to the Boston Celtics' hopes of a long postseason run, guard Marcus Smart has suffered a torn left oblique and could miss the opening two rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Boston issued a statement Wednesday night saying Smart would resume basketball activities in four to six weeks, a timeline that could sideline him through the team's first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers and, if they advance, a likely second-round matchup against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.

Smart was injured in a home loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

He has played a significant role for the Celtics this season, and a difficult pathway to emerge out of the East only becomes more difficult with the guard's loss.

Smart, 25, has averaged 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4 assists, but his defense and grittiness separates him, especially in the playoffs.

In Smart's absence, the Celtics will almost certainly revert back to Jaylen Brown as the team's starting shooting guard -- as he was for the opening few weeks of Boston's season. But after the Celtics struggled through the first 20 games of the season, Smart was inserted into the starting lineup, and Boston quickly rattled off an eight-game winning streak. Smart and the Celtics never looked back, and Smart was expected to be an integral part of the team's hopes for a deep playoff run over the next two months.

Brown looked out of sorts early in the season as he tried to adjust to the reintroduction of both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to the mix in Boston, but Brown has thrived over the past few months coming off the bench. Presuming Brown does, in fact, return to the starting lineup now, Boston will be hoping he can carry that momentum over into the postseason -- though Brown has been dealing with back issues of his own over the past week or so.

Smart, 25, has had a career season for the Celtics, after signing a four-year, $52 million contract as a restricted free agent last summer. He is shooting a career-best 42.2 percent from the field, including another career-best 36.4 percent from 3-point range, and Smart is expected to be named to one of the league's All-Defensive teams for his work alongside Irving in Boston's backcourt.

Smart suffered his injury during the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Orlando Magic in Boston, a meaningless game for the Celtics, who already were locked into the fourth seed and a first-round matchup against the Pacers, beginning this weekend. And it happened on a strange play, as Smart collided with Magic center Nikola Vucevic while chasing Evan Fournier down the lane, then crashed to the ground, holding his side.

Boston eventually called a timeout, and Smart limped to the bench -- only to convince the training staff that he was all right and could stay in the game. But after the Celtics had the ball for one offensive possession -- on which Smart was clearly moving gingerly -- Smart called for the bench to replace him as he limped back on defense before falling to the floor, writhing in pain and holding his side. Eventually, he got to his feet and, with the help of trainers, hobbled to the locker room.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.

Playing without an injured Blake Griffin, the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks 115-89 on Wednesday to secure a playoff berth.

The Pistons (41-41) finished in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and will face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.

Detroit needed to win on the final night of the season to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

If the Pistons lost on Wednesday and the Charlotte Hornets (39-43) had beaten the Orlando Magic, Detroit would have missed the playoffs. The Magic defeated the Hornets 122-114.

Other Eastern Conference playoff matchups decided on the final night of the season:

The Brooklyn Nets secured the sixth seed with a 113-94 win over the Miami Heat in Dwayne Wade's final game.

Brooklyn will face the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Magic secured the seventh seed and will face the Toronto Raptors in the first round. The other Eastern Conference series is fourth-seeded Boston against No. 5 seed Indiana.

With Griffin out due to a sore left knee, Detroit leaned on Luke Kennard against New York in the season finale. Kennard had 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting off the Pistons' bench. Andre Drummond added 20 points and 18 rebounds and Reggie Jackson had 21 points and 7 assists.

Griffin has been the focal point of the Detroit offense, averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season.

Detroit's win leaves Charlotte short of a playoff spot in a summer in which star point guard Kemba Walker will test free agency.

Hornets coach James Borrego summed up the season succinctly.

"We were one game from the playoffs,'' he said after a loss that had little significance after Detroit's win against the Knicks. "Literally one game away from the playoffs. Where we are as an organization, we are in a healthy place.''

The big question for the Hornets is whether Walker, who had 43 points against Orlando, will return. Walker said he had no idea.

Borrego indicated he wanted Walker back.

"I love that kid,'' he said. "He inspires me. I love coaching him, and I look forward to coaching him for many years to come.''

ESPN's David Newton contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Dwyane Wade's final NBA game also marked something else: a reunion of the Banana Boat Crew, so nicknamed for a photograph that surfaced of the group on vacation in 2015.

Moments before Wednesday night's game at Barclays Center between Wade's Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets tipped off, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony exited the arena's underground elevator inside a private SUV and walked into the bowl of the arena just as the night's rendition of the national anthem was being completed.

James' Lakers played the Blazers in Los Angeles the previous night, Paul was in Oklahoma City on Tuesday with the Rockets, and Anthony lives in New York. All three were able to get to their seats in the corner of the court across from Miami's bench in time for a tribute video honoring Wade before pregame introductions to be played.

Wade, who was introduced first to a standing ovation by the crowd, then went over and hugged each of his friends before taking the court in the starting lineup. Once the game began, he gave everyone in attendance something to remember as he secured a triple-double by the end of the third quarter. Wade finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes during a 113-94 loss to Brooklyn.

"Listen, we all started this journey together," James told Fox Sports Southeast during an interview early in the second quarter, when asked why the three of them came to the game. "Obviously CP came into the league a couple years after us, but we have a brotherhood that is just so much more than basketball. CP played last night, we had our last regular-season game last night, and Melo is right here in New York so we kind of made the plan and made the decision to come up here."

After scoring 30 points in the final home game of his career Tuesday night in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did his best to downplay expectations for an encore performance from Wade before Wednesday night's game. It turns out he was simply being cautions, as Wade's triple-doubled proved.

"Yeah, in a normal circumstance this would 1,000 percent be considered load management and protection," Spoelstra said. "There's no guarantees that this will be like last night. He let it all out there, including the postgame celebration. It was an incredible night. It was beautiful, and just everything probably played out as well as you possibly could imagine it, dream of it, in a scenario like that.

"That just doesn't happen for most pro athletes. I'm very grateful like everyone else in Miami and the organization to have been part of a night like that."

James, who narrated the part of the tribute video honoring Wade about the four years they spent together in South Florida that played before Tuesday's game against the Sixers, was asked Wednesday what were his favorite memories of playing with Wade.

"I mean, we'd be here all night talking," he said with a smile. "We'd be here all night talking about the best memories, or the most fond memories I have of D-Wade.

"The plane rides, the bus rides, the hotels. When we get to the city we'd go to the hotel room and just chop it up, the dinners we had on the road, everything we did was always genuine. [There was] always love, and we always wanted the best for one another, no matter the good or the bad.

"I will say the most founding part was when we lost [to Dallas in 2011]. Because, without '11, there's no [2013], no [2012 championship] banners hanging up in [AmericanAirlines Arena]. That's what made us. That's what made our team.

"It's been an unbelievable journey for my guy, and I'm happy to be here for the last little part of the road before the train comes to a stop."

Wade fell trying to do his famous leap onto the scorer's table during his postgame celebration Tuesday night, and tweeted Wednesday afternoon about getting treatment on his knee ahead of the final game of his NBA career.

According to Wade's wife, actress Gabrielle Union, he had no idea his friends were going to be in attendance for Wednesday's game, and wasn't even sure he'd be able to play after his fall the night before.

@DwyaneWade did not know his friends were coming. He wasnt sure he could even play after his fall last night. Perfect ending. https://t.co/ewAyGRVTIT

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) April 11, 2019

In addition to James, Wade and Anthony, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker and Tom Crean, Wade's coach at Marquette, attended Wednesday's game.

NEW YORK -- Robot umpires will get some more warm-up time.

Major League Baseball and the Atlantic League said Wednesday the experiment with radar-tracking technology to call balls and strikes will not be used when the independent minor league starts play on April 25. Instead, the technology "will be implemented gradually over the course of the 2019 season." No date for the start was announced.

Plate umpires will wear earpieces and be informed of ball and strike calls by a TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar. Umps will have the ability to override the computer, which considers a pitch a strike when the ball bounces and then crosses the zone. TrackMan also does not evaluate check swings.

A second test also was pushed back: extending the distance between the pitching rubber and home plate by 2 feet to 62½ feet. Originally scheduled to start after this year's All-Star break, the distance change was put off until the second half of 2020.

"These changes reflect a joint desire that the upcoming technology upgrades at ALPB ballparks be fully installed and calibrated prior to implementation of these experimental playing rules," MLB and the Atlanta League said in a joint statement.

Atlantic League teams are in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Central Islip, New York; High Point, North Carolina; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; New Britain, Connecticut; Sugar Land, Texas; Waldorf, Maryland; and York, Pennsylvania.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout is hopeful he won't be out of the Los Angeles Angels' lineup for long, but he remains cautious since it is early in the season.

The star outfielder was out of the lineup Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers in order to rest the right groin he strained Tuesday night.

"It was really sore yesterday but not as sore today,'' said Trout, who received treatment and did not take batting practice. "Missing a couple games this early in the season is not that big of a deal.''

Trout added that he was pleased with the progress made overnight, which is why he thinks he won't be out for long. The Angels have Thursday off before beginning a three-game series Friday in Chicago against the Cubs.

Trout, who signed a record 12-year, $426.5 million contract near the end of spring training, is second in the American League with a .406 batting average. The two-time MVP is tied for third in home runs (five) and tied for fourth in RBIs (12). He has reached base safely in all 12 games.

Weather could play a factor though in when Trout could return, especially if it is cold and windy.

Trout said he had not looked at the weather forecast, but manager Brad Ausmus said it will be a factor and taken into consideration.

"There is a big stretch of 17 games coming up. You want to be out there for the whole season but you have to be smart,'' Trout said. "The trainer said if I pushed it [during Tuesday's game] that it could get a lot worse.''

Brian Goodwin moved to center field and David Fletcher got the start in left in the series finale.

ST. LOUIS -- Three-time All-Star infielder Matt Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a contract that adds $37 million in guaranteed money for 2020 and '21, a deal that includes an option for 2022.

The 33-year-old has a $14.5 million salary this season as part of a $52 million, six-year deal that included an $18.5 million club option for 2020 with a $2 million buyout.

Under the new deal, he has guaranteed salaries of $18.5 million in both 2020 and '21. The 2022 salary would become guaranteed if he has 1,100 plate appearances combined in 2020 and '21, including at least 550 in '21.

"It's really very humbling," Carpenter said after Wednesday's announcement. "To be able to potentially be here for an entire career is something that I don't take for granted. Every day it's something that I try to live up to."

He has a .273 batting average with 134 home runs and a .376 on base percentage in 1,031 games since debuting in 2011 with the Cardinals. Carpenter was an All-Star in 2013, 2014, and 2016. He finished among the top 10 in MVP voting in 2013 and last year.

"He's created enormous flexibility for the Cardinals because he was always willing to play a different position to allow us to maximize our team," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. "Really what it says is he's truly a team player. So, the reason we're motivated to try to do this is where he's at in his career, we wanted him to continue to wear the Cardinal uniform."

Carpenter was a 13th-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2009. He became the fourth St. Louis player since February to sign a long-term deal after first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, pitcher Miles Mikolas, and first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez.

"When we get a core player, we like to keep him here," Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. "We've made every effort to do that since I've been here and before."

British number one Kyle Edmund is out of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech after losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets in the last 16.

The third seed was beaten 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 in one hour 29 minutes.

The early exit comes a year after Edmund reached the final of the clay court event, his maiden ATP final.

Tsonga has a career-high ranking of fifth in the world but is now ranked 116th, 94 places below Edmund, as he recovers from knee surgery.

The Frenchman will play Italian qualifier Lorenzo Sonego in the quarter-final.

In the men's doubles, Britain's Dom Inglot and partner Rohan Bopanna beat Roman Jebavy and Andres Molteni 0-6 6-3 10-8.

Leicester Tigers will hand lifetime bans to anyone found to have subjected players and their families to "vile and disgusting abuse" on social media.

The club said it was aware of "malicious content" posted after Saturday's 52-20 defeat by Exeter.

Leicester have contacted police and "reported this as a crime".

"The club is in no way above criticism - everybody at the club accepts that we are not where want to be," said Tigers head of brand Chris Rose.

"Every person at the club finds it an honour to work at Welford Road and so accept all opinions on how we are doing our jobs for our supporters, but when this tips over into foul abuse, the club will do everything in its power to make sure people that believe that is acceptable behaviour are found and dealt with.

"There is no place in society or the Tigers family for this, let alone in our sport which prides itself on the family-friendly nature of the game.

"We encourage any supporters that have any information that could be relevant to contact the club or Leicestershire Police and help us make a stand against anyone having to receive these kind of messages."

Captain Tom Youngs, who has been banned for three weeks after being sent off in the loss at Welford Road, was one of "several players to have family members targeted in posts".

"At the moment, we have not been good enough and accept that it means a lot to our supporters, who are entitled to have their say on our performances," said Youngs.

"However, no family members are deserving of being pulled in to that criticism and nothing of the sort myself and players have received in recent weeks is appropriate, ever."