NBA’s playoff picture set after thrilling end to regular season
By Homero De la Fuente, CNN
(CNN) — The NBA’s Western Conference playoff picture is officially set following an action-packed Sunday that saw all 30 teams take the court for the regular season finale, with six teams vying for postseason berths.
James Harden scored 12 of his 39 points in overtime as the Los Angeles Clippers secured the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference following a thrilling victory over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Sunday.
The Clippers will play against a No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets team that fired their head coach Michael Malone days before the end of the regular season.
Denver closed out the season with a 3-1 record after replacing Malone with interim coach David Adelman, son of the iconic NBA coach Rick Adelman.
Meanwhile, the Warriors who were competing with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the final guaranteed spot to avoid the Play-In, came up short.
Despite Stephen Curry scoring 36 points, the Warriors blew a second-half lead to close out the season dropping two of their last three games. Golden State will play against the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday in the play-in tournament.
The winner advances to play against the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in the playoffs. The loser will get a second chance to make the playoffs on Friday, squaring off against the winner of the second play-in game between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.
The Western Conference’s No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder awaits for whatever team comes out of the play-in with the No. 8 Seed.
Elsewhere, Minnesota claimed the No. 6 seed with a 116-105 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. The Anthony Edwards-led Timberwolves will meet with the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs.
- Western Conference – Playoff Standings
- No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2. Houston Rockets
- 3. Los Angeles Lakers
- 4. Denver Nuggets
- 5. Los Angeles Clippers
- 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
- ——— Play-In ———
- 7. Golden State Warriors
- 8. Memphis Grizzlies
- 9. Sacramento Kings
- No. 10 Dallas Mavericks
In the Eastern Conference, there was little to be played for on Sunday as the playoff seedings had already been cemented following Friday’s 15-game slate.
The Cleveland Cavaliers secured home court advantage after locking up the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in franchise history.
Cleveland is expected to get star guard Donovan Mitchell back in time for the first round despite missing the team’s final four games of the regular season with a sprained ankle.
“I think he’ll be full on with practice. We’re going to have to scrimmage at some point, probably inter-squad with refs, so he’ll participate in that,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters on Sunday. “The most important thing is how we build him up with the ankle rehab and then conditioning.”
The Orlando Magic advanced to the play-in after claiming the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, despite playing a portion of the season without star Paolo Banchero and brothers Franz and Mo Wagner, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Magic will also be without Jalen Suggs, who underwent season-ending left knee surgery in March.
They will play against the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks who are led by Trae Young and surging No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher on Tuesday. The winner will play against the defending champion Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
The Celtics could be without All-Star Jaylen Brown, who missed the team’s final three regular season contests as he tends to an injured right knee. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla appears optimistic saying he is “a hundred percent” confident Brown will be ready ahead for the start of the playoffs.
“Just part of the rehab process for him to get back to be his absolute best,” Mazzulla told reporters on Sunday, when asked if Brown had received any shots in his knee. “He’s continuing to take care of himself and put himself in great position to be ready for the postseason.”
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls locked up the No. 9 seed with a 119-89 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday. They’ll play against the No. 10 Miami Heat in Wednesday’s play-in contest. The winner will play against either the Magic or Hawks on Friday.
Friday’s winner will square off against the Cavaliers in the first round.
The No. 3 New York Knicks take on a No. 6 Detroit Pistons team returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2019, one year after finishing with the league’s worst record.
In what’s set to be an intriguing opening-round matchup between two teams with recent history, the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks will travel to Indianapolis to play against the Indiana Pacers in a rematch of last year’s first-round series.
The Pacers pulled off an upset series win against a then No. 3 seed Bucks in six games last year without Giannis Antetokounmpo. They split the season series 2-2.
Milwaukee will look to avenge last season’s loss, possibly without nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard. The 34-year-old hasn’t played since March, after sustaining deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his right calf.
- Eastern Conference – Playoff Standings
- No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2. Boston Celtics
- 3. New York Knicks
- 4. Indiana Pacers
- 5. Milwaukee Bucks
- 6. Detroit Pistons
- ——— Play-In ———
- 7. Orlando Magic
- 8. Atlanta Hawks
- 9. Chicago Bulls
- 10. Miami Heat
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