The Brooklyn Nets booked an NBA playoff berth on Friday because the Eastern Conference puzzle items fell into place, however suspense remained within the wild West with wins for Golden State, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Nets beat the Orlando Magic 101-84 and clinched the sixth seed within the East, avoiding the play-in event during which the seventh- via Tenth-placed groups will struggle for 2 remaining playoff berths.
The Nets truly knew that they had secured the spot within the fourth quarter of the competition — when the Miami Heat fell 114-108 to the Washington Wizards to complete seventh within the East.
The Heat, clearly content material to headline the play-in, rested six of their prime gamers — together with Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro — a method repeated across the league by each playoff-bound groups and people already eradicated.
Even with the enhance from Miami, the Nets had motive to have fun their assured berth in a tumultuous season that noticed coach Steve Nash sacked after a stumbling begin and Kyrie Irving suspended in an anti-Semitism row.
All that earlier than the beautiful trades of Irving and famous person Kevin Durant in February.
“I feel it speaks to the character of the group, the maturity and simply the selflessness,” mentioned Spencer Dinwiddie, who returned to Brooklyn from Dallas within the commerce for Irving.
“I feel all people got here in right here and tried to determine what their job was going to be and execute it to the most effective of their capacity and push ahead.”
Atlanta clinched eighth place within the East regardless of a 136-131 additional time loss to the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers because of Boston’s 121-102 victory over Toronto.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 factors for Boston and sat out the second half because the Celtics simply overcame the absence of Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Jaylen Brown — who was a late scratch after needing stitches for a minimize on his proper hand suffered in an accident at his house.
– Mavs give up –
The Bulls rested DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine, however rallied to beat the depleted Dallas Mavericks 115-112.
Story continues
Coby White scored 24 factors to guide Chicago in opposition to a Mavs staff that threw within the towel, abandoning their slim hopes of creating the Western Conference play-in as they held out Irving and 4 different key gamers — and pulled star Luka Doncic after the primary quarter.
“We have been going to play till informed in any other case,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd mentioned earlier than the sport. “And as we speak is the day that we have been informed we’ll do one thing totally different.”
Kidd mentioned the Mavs gamers who have been on the ground would not “cheat the sport” and certainly Dallas began off scorching and led 67-54 at halftime.
But Chicago clawed again and Dallas’ defeat handed a Western Conference play-in berth to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Although the “tanking” maneuver might bolster Dallas’ place within the NBA draft, it is an ignominious finish to the season for a staff that reached the Western Conference finals final 12 months.
Elsewhere within the West, the Lakers beat the playoff-bound Phoenix Suns 121-107 and the New Orleans Pelicans downed the New York Knicks 113-105 to keep up their faint hopes of escaping the play-in.
D’Angelo Russell scored 24 factors, Austin Reaves added 22 and LeBron James scored 16 for the Lakers, who took benefit of the absence of Suns stars Durant and Devin Booker.
The Warriors, led by 29 factors from Klay Thompson and 25 from Stephen Curry, moved a half-game forward of the Los Angeles Clippers for fifth within the West with a 119-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
The Memphis Grizzlies clinched the second seed, forward of Sacramento, with a 137-114 victory over a Milwaukee Bucks staff that rested half a dozen stars, together with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Jaren Jackson scored 36 factors for the Grizzlies, who trailed by one at halftime however out-scored Milwaukee 37-15 within the third quarter to take cost.
“These video games are vital,” Jackson mentioned. “Especially down the stretch within the Western Conference. We wished to verify we got here out of this with a win.”
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