The Hawks, strong in their victory against Washington, and the Knicks, without playing but thanks to the loss of Boston in Cleveland, directly qualified for the NBA play-offs on Wednesday, the Celtics being forced to go through this phase that they wanted to avoid.
Teams finishing between 1st and 6th place advance directly into the play-offs, while those ranked 7th through 10th will play play-offs, for the last two tickets up for grabs in each conference.
. Atlanta and New York are there
Two days after a first victory (125-124), overshadowed by the feat of Russell Westbrook who broke Oscar Robertson’s record for the number of triple-doubles (182), the Hawks put it back against Washington (120 -116), thus validating their ticket for their first play-offs since 2017.
Trae Young (33 pts, 9 assists, 8 rebounds) was decisive for Atlanta (4th), which was led by thirteen units in the last quarter, and was also able to count on Jason Collins (18 pts, 6 rebounds), author of the shoot behind the arc which rocked the meeting 24 seconds from the end.
Opposite, Russell Westbrook (34 pts, 15 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 interceptions) still struggled. In vain.
The Wizards (10th), who hope to quickly find Bradley Beal (hip), will definitely be able to establish their barrage position on Thursday, if Chicago (11th) loses against Toronto.
The dams, precisely, Boston (7th), finalist of the Eastern Conference three times in the last four seasons, would have avoided them. But the loss (102-94) in Cleveland was too much.
In the absence for a long time of Jaylen Brown (wrist), Jayson Tatum (29 pts, 8 assists) and Evan Fournier (15 pts, 4 rebounds, 2 interceptions) were not enough. And it is New York (6th) which takes the opportunity to find the play-offs eight years later.
. LA clings to Portland
“The road to the double begins in about a week.” Still in civilian clothes, anxious to spare his right ankle, LeBron James made an appointment with some 2,000 Lakers fans who came to attend the lifting from the ceiling of the Staples Center of the 17th banner of NBA champion, seven months after the title gleaned in the Orlando bubble.
But dams could well be in their way, even if they do everything to avoid them, like their narrow victory against Houston (124-122), thanks to a final basket from Kyle Kuzma (19 pts) six seconds from the end.
Because at the same time, the Blazers (5th) won at the leader Utah (105-98), thanks to Damian Lillard (30 pts) and CJ McCollum (26 pts). Jusuf Nurkic (11 pts, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks) delivered a big duel inside with Rudy Gobert (15 pts, 20 rebounds, 1 against).
With two games each to play, Portland has one victory better than LA If it wins Thursday in Phoenix, the door to the play-offs will open.
. Harden succeeds in his comeback
A hamstring tear has kept him away from the courts for the past five weeks, but it no longer seems to be a bad memory: James Harden was convincing (18 pts, 11 assists, 7 rebounds) for his recovery, for the Brooklyn’s victory over San Antonio (128-116).
The Beard started off on the bench as a precaution, but his activity was also remarkable defensively (2 blocks, 2 interceptions). “Sixth man, I also master. I received a trophy for this role,” he recalled.
Like him, seven other players scored between 12 and 21 points, Kevin Durant settling for 14 (7 rebounds, 7 assists).
This success leaves little hope for the Nets (2nd in the East) to finish seed N.1, even if the lead of Philadelphia is substantial.
For the Spurs (10th) of DeMar DeRozan (21 pts), this defeat is without great damage in their quest for the dams in the West, because New Orleans fell (125-107) in Dallas (6th), carried by Luka Doncic (33 pts, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) and who is only missing one victory to go to the play-offs.
With the Pelicans out of the race, only Sacramento has little hope of upsetting San Antonio, who has two wins with three games to go.
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