BOSTON — Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford rested on Friday as the Celtics’ second unit led them to a win over the similarly short-handed Hornets.
Boston won 131-98, and host the Wizards in the final regular season game on Sunday. With the Celtics’ standing as the league’s top team long secured, plenty of seeding around the league came into clearer focus after six teams entered the afternoon in position to potentially play Boston in the first round.
Here’s where things stand entering the final game of the regular season:
9-versus-10 play in game: Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls
The Hawks clinched the 10th seed last week before the Bulls secured No. 9 to host the first of two games required for the ninth or 10th seed to steal the eight seed. They’ll play on Wednesday in Chicago before the winner moves on to play the loser of the 7-8 game. The winner of that matchup will move on to face the Celtics in round one.
76ers-Magic
Joel Embiid tweaked his left knee late in the second quarter after the 76ers built a 17-point lead, returning in the second half as the Sixers stayed alive in the race to clinch a playoff spot before the play-in tournament. Indiana’s loss to Cleveland created a three-way tie between the Pacers, 76ers and Magic for the fifth seed. Orlando, as the lone division leader between the three for now, stayed in the fifth seed for the moment while the Pacers fell to seventh based on their worst record between the three teams combined.
The Magic finish fifth with one more win, or could fall as far as eighth given that they lose a tiebreaker with Miami. The Heat winning the division, in that case, hurts Orlando in multi-team ties too, but as the division leader for now, they stayed in the 4-5 bracket despite their loss, opposite of Cleveland in round one and Boston in the hypothetical second.
PHI next: vs. Nets
ORL next: vs. Bucks
Cavaliers-Pacers
The Magic’s loss to the Sixers allowed the Cavaliers to clinch an outright playoff spot and at least the fourth seed after entering the day with the possibility of sliding deep into the lower half of the conference. The Knicks stayed ahead of them in three with a win, while the Bucks’ loss to the Thunder opened the door for a three-way tie between the three teams to finish the season that could vault Cleveland over New York in a tie to finish the season despite the Knicks’ head-to-head advantage. The Cavaliers would finish second as the division winner, the Bucks would finish third and New York fourth in a three-way tie scenario.
The Pacers stayed in the sixth seed, losing the chance to leap Orlando into fifth and avoiding the play-in. Indiana loses a head-to-head tiebreaker with Orlando, which could drop them as low as eight if the Heat win too. The Pacers own the tiebreaker over Philadelphia, keeping them above the play-in line for now. They can stay there or move up to five with a win on Sunday. A loss likely drops them into play-in status and in the mix to face Boston round one.
CLE next: vs. Hornets
IND next: vs. Hawks
Bucks-Thunder
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence cost the Bucks as they visited a Thunder team trying to secure seeding atop the west. They moved into a tie with the Knicks for second that they break with a 3-2 regular season advantage. Cleveland would break a tie with them though, so the possibility still exists that Milwaukee could fall into four — in the Celtics’ bracket. A win on Sunday or losses by the Knicks and Cavs clinches the second seed.
MIL next: at Magic
Nets-Knicks
New York nearly lost after trailing by 17 points early, which could have dropped them into a tie with the Cavs for third place. Instead, a win or Cleveland loss secures them the three seed, while a win and Milwaukee loss would leap New York into second place. They can fall to four, but would have to lose while seeing the Bucks also fall while the Cavs win. The Knicks own the Cavs tiebreaker but lose a tie to the Bucks.
NY next: vs. Bulls
Raptors-Heat
The team to watch most entering Sunday. If all stays equal, they’ll visit the 76ers on Tuesday in the play-in tournament with the loser likely to advance to Boston if they can handle Chicago-Atlanta. The Heat, however, break ties with the Sixers and Magic. That could vault them to the seventh, sixth and in a four-way tie would move all the way up to the fifth seed. The latter, improbable due to needing three losses elsewhere. Miami most likely remains in the play-in tournament, trailing the three other teams in the mix by 1.0 game with one left.
MIA next: at Toronto
Scenarios:
ORL, IND, PHI, MIA all win: Magic finish fifth, Pacers sixth and Heat-76ers play-in game
ORL win, IND, PHI, MIA losses: Magic finish fifth, Pacers sixth and Heat-76ers play-in game
IND win, ORL, PHI, MIA losses: Pacers finish fifth, 76ers sixth, Heat-Magic play-in game
PHI win, IND, ORL, MIA losses: 76ers finish fifth, Magic sixth, Heat-Pacers play-in game
MIA win, ORL, IND, PHI losses: Heat finish fifth, 76ers sixth, Magic-Pacers play-in game
ORL, PHI wins, MIA, IND losses: 76ers finish fifth, Magic sixth, Heat-Pacers play-in game
ORL, MIA wins, PHI, IND losses: Magic finish fifth, Pacers sixth, 76ers-Heat play-in game
PHI, IND wins, ORL, MIA losses: Pacers finish fifth, 76ers sixth, Heat-Magic play-in game
MIA, IND wins, ORL, PHI losses: Pacers finish fifth, Heat sixth, Magic-76ers play-in game
IND, PHI wins, ORL, MIA losses: Pacers finish fifth, 76ers sixth, Heat-Magic play-in game
MIA, PHI wins, ORL, IND losses: 76ers finish fifth, Heat sixth, Pacers-Magic play-in game
PHI, MIA, IND wins, ORL loss: Pacers finish fifth, 76ers sixth, Magic-Heat play-in game
PHI, ORL, IND wins, MIA loss: Magic finish fifth, Pacers sixth, 76ers-Heat play-in game
PHI, ORL, MIA wins, IND loss: 76ers finish fifth, Magic sixth, Heat-Pacers play-in game
ORL, IND, MIA wins, PHI loss: Magic finish fifth, Pacers sixth, 76ers-Heat play-in game
ORL, IND, MIA, PHI losses: Magic finish fifth, Pacers sixth, Heat-76ers play-in game
