Mexico City. The NBA regular season came to an end this Sunday, and with it the beginning of the most exciting part of the year: the postseason. The last date of the campaign defined the positions in which the teams would be located. Although the 10 classified by both conferences were already known, it remained to be determined how they would be arranged in the table and who would go directly and who would not.
The only one who was assured of first place were the Boston Celtics (64-18). Most of the other teams could suffer some variation in their positions, and some with the risk of falling to the repechage or play-in.
For this reason, many franchises played more than one game, on a card that took place at two different times.
In the west the focus of attention was centralized due to the triple tie at the top.
Oklahoma Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets shared a record of 56-25 and were playing for the lead. However, the combinations favored the Thunder, who with a victory guaranteed the leadership of that sector. Thus, facing a Dallas Mavericks without the possibility of climbing from fifth place, they secured the place of honor with a 135-86 victory. The Nuggets, on the other hand, took advantage of the Timberwolves’ loss, added to their victory against the Grizzlies, to remain in second place.
Minnesota, with this, will face the same team in the playoffs that sent them to the third place yesterday; the Phoenix Suns who, for their part, left the play-off zone to qualify in sixth and last place with direct access to the next round. The Los Angeles Clippers (4th) and the Mavericks will star in the other first round contest.
Instead, the Thunder and the Nuggets await their rival, who will emerge from the winners of the play-in between the New Orleans Pelicans (7th) and the Los Angeles Lakers (8th), and the Sacramento Kings (9th) and Golden State Warriors (10th). Both series will take place on Tuesday.
In the Eastern Conference, the Celtics, who finished with the best record in the league, are emerging as the rival to beat. Behind the Bostonians, the New York Knicks finished, after defeating the Chicago Bulls 120-119. They ousted the Milwaukee Bucks from second place, who lost 113-88 to the Orlando Magic. In this way, they will face the Indiana Pacers (6th) in the first round, while Orlando (5th), which advanced for the first time in four years, will face the Cleveland Cavaliers (4th).
Finally, the Philadelphia 76ers (7th) and the Miami Heat (8th) will face the play-in. The loser of this match, which will be played on Wednesday, will have another chance to qualify against the winner of the match between the Bulls (9th) and the Hawks (10th). Celtic and Knicks await the winners of these matches.
#NBA #playin #defined
– 2024-04-23 16:58:55
