Chicago ? These Bulls hardly resemble Michael Jordan’s teams of the 1990s, but they do share one trait with those championship squads — they’re in the postseason.

The Bulls, who started this season 0-9, secured their first playoff berth since the Jordan era with a 110-97 victory Saturday over the Toronto Raptors, who were eliminated from playoff contention.

“The guys are happy,” Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. “They should be, to come from where we’ve come from to be in. We should be happy, and I’ve enjoyed it.”

But there was little outward celebration from a team headed to the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season, when Jordan led the Bulls to their sixth NBA title. The Bulls said they’re not content simply to make the postseason, but want to advance in the playoffs.

“It’s good,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, the Bulls owner who presided over the team’s dynasty and subsequent rebuilding, as he walked by the locker room after the game. “It’s been awhile.”

The Bulls have won three straight and 12 of their last 13, and are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, two games ahead of idle Indiana.

Kirk Hinrich scored 25 points and added eight assists, and four other Bulls scored in double figures. Tyson Chandler had a season-high 18 points and finished with 21 rebounds in a reserve role. Antonio Davis had 13 points and 13 rebounds, Andres Nocioni scored 16 and Othella Harrington added 12.

“Kirk was great tonight,” Skiles said. “He controlled the game, he made big shots, he hustled. We had a lot of guys play very well tonight.”

Chandler had 11 offensive rebounds as the team beat the Raptors on the boards, 53-33, including a 21-6 advantage on offense rebounds.

“They’re just more athletic,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. “We had no answer for Tyson Chandler. They just killed us on the boards.”

Chicago's Kirk Hinrich, bottom, dives for a loose ball ahead of Toronto's Pape Sow (9). The Bulls defeated the Raptors, 110-97, Saturday night in Chicago.

The Bulls never trailed, and were tied only once at 2-2, en route to matching a season high with 62 points in the first half. Chicago led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter before the Raptors used a 15-2 run to close within 85-77 going into the fourth quarter.

The teams traded baskets and Hinrich hit a three-pointer to give the Bulls a 97-85 lead. The Raptors never got within single digits the rest of the way.

“To be in this situation and know we’re going to be in the playoffs, it’s really big for me,” said Chandler, who along with Eddy Curry is the longest-tenured Bull at four years.

Without two injured starters, Curry and Luol Deng, the Bulls got strong contributions from Harrington and Nocioni in their stead. Nocioni scored eight points in the first quarter and Harrington scored 10 in the first half and had the first basket of the fourth quarter.

“That’s kind of been the story for us all year,” Hinrich said. “We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup and other guys have stepped up.”

Jalen Rose, who used to play for the Bulls, led the Raptors with 19 points. Morris Peterson had 18 and Chris Bosh had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Nets 99, Celtics 86

East Rutherford, N.J. — Vince Carter had a career quarter and almost a career game. Carter outscored the Boston Celtics 24-19 in the first quarter en route to a season-best 45-point performance, helping the New Jersey Nets continue their late playoff push.

Jason Kidd added a season-high 17 assists and rookie center Nenad Krstic had 17 points in leading the Nets to their 11th win in 14 games.

Paul Pierce had 16 points to lead the Celtics, who saw coach Doc Rivers get ejected after just 1:41 for arguing a call.

Hawks 105, Timberwolves 98

Atlanta — Tyronn Lue scored 23 points, including 12 straight in the fourth quarter, and Atlanta beat Minnesota to end a 14-game losing streak. Minnesota, led by Kevin Garnett’s 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, fell four games behind eighth-place Memphis in the race for the final playoff spot in the West with five games remaining.

Nuggets 121, Sonics 105

Denver — Carmelo Anthony had 24 points, Earl Boykins added 23 and Denver won its seventh straight game, beating Seattle to move a step closer to reaching the playoffs for the second straight season. Andre Miller had 14 points and a season-high 17 assists, helping the Nuggets shoot 57 percent in their 21st win in 23 games — the franchise’s best stretch since going 27-2 in 1974.

Mavericks 88, Jazz 81

Dallas — Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points to help Dallas secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a victory over Utah. Nowitzki also had nine rebounds, five assists and five blocks as Dallas (52-24) wrapped up the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

Cavaliers 98, Bucks 81

Cleveland — LeBron James made a career-high seven three-pointers and scored 40 points — 28 in the first half — as Cleveland kept its weak grasp on a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a win over Milwaukee.

Drew Gooden added 24 points and Jeff McInnis 22 as the trio combined for 86 points for Cleveland, which played its third straight game without All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Gooden also had 15 rebounds.

76ers 112, Wizards 106

Washington — Philadelphia played without Allen Iverson, blew a 21-point first-half lead and trailed by 13 in the fourth quarter before rallying for its fourth straight win. Andre Iguodala, Willie Green and Marc Jackson scored 20 points each to lead six 76ers in double figures as the team spread the wealth without NBA scoring leader Iverson, who sprained both thumbs in Friday night’s win over Cleveland. Philadelphia improved to just 2-5 with Iverson out of the lineup.

Gilbert Arenas scored a career-high 44 points for the Wizards, who have lost five straight and are rapidly descending in the Eastern Conference standings.

Rockets 98, Suns 97

Phoenix — Tracy McGrady scored 34 points and Houston held off a late Phoenix rally to beat the Suns and secure a playoff berth. The Suns, down by 14 with 9:51 to go, had a chance to win it at the finish but Steve Nash missed an 18-footer, and Steven Hunter’s attempt to slam home the rebound bounced out. Houston had two 24-second shot clock violations in the final 58 seconds, and Bob Sura missed two free throws with 7.8 seconds left.