The Memphis Grizzlies have secured a place in the play-in tournament. By contrast, the San Antonio Spurs playoff series ends after 22 years.
Against a decimated Boston Celtics team, the Washington Wizards around Moe Wagner and Isaac Bonga were able to celebrate their first victory in the NBA bubble.
NBA Playoffs 2020: These are the duels of the first round
| Western Conference | Eastern Conference | ||
| (1) Los Angeles Lakers | (8) Portland Trail Blazers/Memphis Grizzlies | (1) Milwaukee Bucks | (8) Orlando Magic |
| (2) L.A. Clippers | (7) Dallas Mavericks | (2) Toronto Raptors | (7) Brooklyn Nets |
| (3) Denver Nuggets | (6) Utah Jazz | (3) Boston Celtics | (6) Philadelphia 76ers |
| (4) Houston Rockets/OKC Thunder | (5) OKC Thunder/Houston Rockets | (4) Miami Heat/Indiana Pacers | (5) Indiana Pacers/Miami Heat |
Boston Celtics (48-23) – Washington Wizards (24-47) 90:96 (BOXSCORE)
- Even before the game against Washington, the Celtics had secured third place in the Eastern Conference, so coach Brad Stevens gave his stars a well-deserved break. Without Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis, it wasn’t quite enough in the end against the Wizards, who scored their first victory in the NBA bubble on their last regular season game day.
- In the consistently tight game, Washington held its own in the end, thanks in particular to Thomas Bryant, who delivered a really strong performance with 26 points (10/15 FG), 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Isaac Bonga (30 minutes) and Moe Wagner (19) also got one more time at the end of the season, but both struggled with their litter (2/7 FG each).
- The same thing happened to the Celts on the other side. Boston lacked any firepower, only eight of their 35 three-point throws found their target (22.9 percent). Only Semi Ojeleye (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Javonte Green (23) scored double-digit on the side of the Celts, whose plus-minus of -13, however, represented the worst value of all players on the field.
- Nonetheless, Coach Stevens was satisfied with his team and praised the efforts of his young players: “I think some guys tried very hard today, Javonte of course was at the top of the list.” While Boston fans can now look forward to the playoff series against Philadelphia, Washington has to travel home.
Here are the highlights of the game Celtics – Wizards.
Los Angeles Lakers (52-19) – Sacramento Kings (31-41) 122:136 (BOXSCORE)
- The game between the Lakers and Kings took a similar course. Anthony Davis was spared for the playoffs, LeBron James scored 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in just 15 minutes, but also watched the second half from the bench.
- The Kings took advantage of this, in the third quarter they started their decisive run with 11 successive basket wins. LA was able to make up a few points in the final section, but by then the game had long been decided.
- Buddy Hield (28 points, 10/17 FG, 5 rebounds, here are his highlights) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (27) had a particularly good day. Together they were responsible for 15 of the 21 threesomes in Sacramento. Nemanja Bjelica scratched a triple-double with 15 points, 13 assists and 8 rebounds. The best scorer in Purple and Gold was Dion Waiters with 19 points.
- Only three games after the restart, the Lakers had made first place in the Western Conference clear, but their opponent will not be played between Portland and Memphis until next weekend. For the 14th consecutive year, Sacramento will end early.
Phoenix Suns (34-39) – Dallas Mavericks (43-32) 128: 102 (game report)
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