Brooklyn one step away from the play-offs
A Boston-Brooklyn remake at the start of the play-offs? The tussle at the top of the Eastern Conference continued until the last night of the regular season and the results draw this outcome. In 2021, the Nets, seeded number 2, won ahead of the Celtics (4-1). The New Yorkers, who have had a turbulent season – Durant often injured, Irving the unvaccinated finally full-time with the team, the exchange of James Harden… – are not there yet, but they are on the rise in power at the best moment of the exercise.
On the night of Sunday to Monday, they did the job against Indiana (134-126) thanks to a formidable Kyrie Irving (35 points, 15/20 in shooting, 4/6 at 3 points, 7 rebounds) and a Kevin Durant in triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists, career high). It was enough to ensure a fourth victory in a row and clinch 7th place in the East, while Cleveland also won on the last day against a Milwaukee in rest mode, without its executives. (133-115).
Nets and Cavs finish seventh and eighth with the same record (44-38), but Brooklyn has the advantage in direct confrontations. On Tuesday, it is therefore the Nets who will play at home in the first round of the play-in against the Ohio franchise. The winner will qualify for the play-offs with the number seven seed and will find second-placed Boston. The loser will have a second chance of qualifying for the final phase, against the winner of the duel between Atlanta (success in Houston 130-114 on Sunday, 28 points, 11 assists for Trae Young, 0 points in 7 minutes for Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot) at Charlotte (victory against Washington 124-108).
Toronto for Philadelphia, Chicago for Milwaukee in the first round
The winner of the second round of the play-in will be eighth and will therefore fight with the Heat. Assured of first place in the East, Miami lost to Orlando in an uninteresting Florida derby (111-125). Behind, the defeat without really playing the Bucks, combined with the victories of Boston in Memphis (139-110, 31 points for Jayson Tatum, the Grizzlies evolving without their executives) and of Philadelphia against Detroit (118-106, 8 points to 3 / 7, 1 assist for Killian Hayes at the Pistons) resulted in a three-way tie (Celtics, Bucks and Sixers at 51-31). At the head of the Atlantic division, Boston finished runner-up to Miami.
Consequence: Milwaukee, defending champion, third, will cross swords with Chicago (winner Sunday in Minneapolis 124-120, 35 points for Patrick Williams), sixth, in the first round of play-offs that the Bulls find for the first time since 2017 Fourth, Philadelphia will have the advantage of the floor at the opening of the final phase against one of the big surprises of the season, Toronto (5th, 48-34), beaten in New York (105-94, 6 points to 2 /11 for Evan Fournier on the Knicks side) at the end of the regular season.