The 2022-23 regular season vintage delivered its verdict on Sunday evening. Now for the play-offs!
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published
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The Clippers and Warriors needed to win the final game of the regular season to secure a direct spot in the NBA playoffs, and they did on Sunday, leaving LeBron James’ Lakers in the play-offs.
In a particularly tight Western Conference, where five franchises were competing for places 5 to 9, the Warriors left no room for luck. The Golden State franchise crushed the Portland Trail Blazers 157-101, breaking the record for most points scored in the first quarter, 55. Stephen Curry scored 26 points, going 5-of-10-3 points. Three other players have scored 20 or more points: Klay Thompson (20), Jordan Poole (21) and 20-year-old Moses Moody (25). “It’s been a season of ups and downs, but when you get to the playoffs, none of that matters.said Draymond Green of the Warriors. “The real season begins“, he added, “and that’s what matters».
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A Phoenix/LA Clippers clash
The Warriors finish behind the LA Clippers, who confirmed their fifth place by beating the Phoenix Suns (119-114), which they will also find in the first round of the play-offs. Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook each scored 25 points, Norman Powell added 29, in a game also marked by a small altercation between teammates Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland, illustrating the tension experienced by the Clippers in this last game.
Our team is very well organized.
LeBron James
Despite their victory against the Utah Jazz (128-117), the LA Lakers of LeBron James (36 pts) will have to go through the play-offs to hope for the play-offs. “Our team is very well organizedsaid James. “We have a good balance. We did a good job putting together a team that is adjusting to AD (Anthony Davis) and myself after the break. We’re just trying to make it work on the pitch.»
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The Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans 113-108, in the play-offs. in a match marked by an altercation between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson. During a timeout in the second quarter, the Frenchman punched his teammate, before players separated them. Gobert was fired by his team as the Timberwolves lost 48-36, nearly four minutes from halftime.
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The loser of the Lakers-Timberwolves playoff will face the winner of the other game between the Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder for a final chance to make the playoffs.
In the East, nobody moves
All the NBA franchises played on Sunday, but in the East the matches had almost no stakes, with each team already assured of their place. The Sixers and the Nets, however, offered a taste of the series that awaits them in the 1st round of the play-offs. Without Joel Embiid and James Harden, who were rested, the Sixers beat the Nets 134-106. Anecdotally, Mikal Bridges played a few seconds for the Nets to play his 83rd game of the season, earning an extra game due to his transfer from Phoenix in February.
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The game between the Hawks and the Celtics, which could also be a first-round playoff series depending on the play-off result, ended in a 120-114 victory for Boston, despite the absences of stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Already guaranteed to finish with the best record in the NBA (58 wins, 24 losses), the Milwaukee Bucks, without Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Khris Middleton (knee), lost their last game against the Raptors (121-105).