Forget about all the teams he disappointed and left behind, collecting checks along the way, Alonzo Mourning is happy about the situation he is in and doesn?t care about what the New Jersey Nets have to say.

"Everybody has their own selective opinion about the situation," he said, "which is comical to me."

In New Jersey, Alonzo Mourning, a player who has seemingly sat out more games than he has played, became unhappy with the direction owner Bruce Ratner was taking his beloved Nets.

"I wasn't loyal," he said, mocking the criticism of his departure, "that I didn't appreciate what they did for me. Little do people know, I had better offers out there to play for other teams. Much better offers. But my ultimate goal wasn't the money. I wanted to be somewhere where I could win. Money was secondary at that point."

Mourning does understand the absurdity of the situation and has leaned a valuable lesson.

"I understand the irony in it all," he said yesterday. "That's how things work. When you go from one place, and you're trying to accomplish a goal, you've got to go through paths that you've gone through before."

The Cleveland Cavaliers gave it all they had tonight versus the Toronto Raptors in a must win game.  Behind LeBron James? 27 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors to finish the season at 42-40.

The win was not enough however as the Nets beat the Celtics tonight to also finish at 42-40 as well, however the Nets own the tie-breaker versus the Cavaliers.

The playoff ousting marks the end of a very troubling second-half of the season for Cleveland who 3 months ago seemed a lock for the playoffs.  An interesting off-season is now in store for Cleveland fans as there are certainly a lot of questions that will need answering.

Jeff McInnis (viral syndrome) did not travel with the team to Toronto last night.  He is listed as 'out' for the Cavaliers' season finale game against the Raptors.

This is Cleveland's most important game in several years.  If they beat Toronto and if New Jersey loses to Boston, then they will make the playoffs and face the Miami Heat.

Vince Carter went up to Toronto and got exactly what he was looking for...a Nets win.

While Raptors' fans have the promise of Chris Bosh, Carter is playing for a spot in the playoffs.  On Friday night Raptors' fans also had the opportunity to let Carter know how they felt about some of the commments he has made since being traded back in December.

Carter was booed everytime he caught the ball.

``I just kind of blocked it out,'' said Carter who demanded out less than halfway into a six-year, $94 million contract. ``I'm happy with the way things turned out. Maybe they are not, but this was a fun game believe it or not.''

Carter went 15-for-26 from the field, scoring 39 points.

Vince Carter will make his return to Toronto tonight to face his former team.

Carter was traded to the Nets in December amid turmoil.

He is averaging 10 points more game in New Jersey than he did in Toronto.

``St. Augustine used to say all hatred is disordered love, and what you're going to see from Raptors fans is really a response to a broken heart,'' Raptors broadcaster Norma Wick said. ``I think Vince Carter leaving -- and by not being the Vince everyone believed he could be before he left -- was heartbreaking.

``And then his admission that he didn't always try hard was a real slap in the face.''

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is keeping his hopes up for a return to action in the Cavaliers? season finale versus Toronto next Wednesday.  Ilgauskas is still nursing his dislocated finger on his right hand and has missed the past four games because of the injury.

``Yeah, with three fingers, basically,'' said Ilgauskas, who's averaging 17.2 points and 8.7 rebounds. ``Even when I do come back at some point -- which I hope I will be able to do -- obviously I won't be as effective... But I have been around and I know how to play. I will be OK.''

With his 19 points scored last night in the Pacers 94-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors, shooting guard Reggie Miller, in his final NBA season, overtook Jerry West for 12th in NBA all-time scoring.

Miller has scored 25,201 career points and is experiencing a bit of a renaissance this year with the depleted Pacers.

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Raptors GM Rob Babcock may be in his final days with the club.  The source said that they are disappointed with Babcock, as well as Richard Peddie, the president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Raptors.

?There is discussion at the board,? another source said. ?There is terrible dissatisfaction with the combination of Babcock and Peddie.?

Babcock has made a series of moves that have not seemed to improve the future of the club.

He drafted Rafael Araujo, who is already being labeled a bust and he rushed into a Vince Carter trade, before he could incite a bidding war, taking on the contract of Alonzo Mourning.

The Carter trade was to give Babcock salary cap flexibility in the future, but it appears more likely that he will not be at the helm when that flexibility may be exercised.

?There's some areas on our team that we need a lot of improvement,? he said. ?There's no doubt. I think that we've done everything that we can possibly do at this point. We still have a long ways to go, have a lot more to do.

?But I think we've addressed every issue that came up, dealt with it and dealt with it in the right way. I feel confident in what we've done.?

Hawks center Obinna Ekezie (left shoulder strain) and forward Tom Gugliotta (groin pull) will miss Friday's game in Toronto.

Yesterday, the Hawks placed Al Harrington (tendinitis, right knee) on the injured list, and activated Michael Stewart.

Second-year forward Chris Bosh sees himself in a Toronto uniform for the long haul despite the dismal state of the franchise.

"I think everything is falling in place right now," Bosh, a second-year pro, said yesterday, during a lengthy chat with reporters yesterday. "It's getting to the point where in the near future it could be my team. I think everybody in the NBA wants to pursue something like that and have that chance. I'm going to have that chance real soon, so that makes me happy."

If there is one thing that has been learned by watching the Phoenix Suns, Seattle Supersonics and the newly revamped Golden State Warriors, it is that any team, by making the right moves and having the right chemistry can become a winning organization, and it doesn?t even cost loads of money to do it.