Playoff field finalised

The National Basketball Association postseason field is set after the regular season ended Sunday, April 12, with the last top-six seeds and play-in matchups locked in. (nba.com) Denver finished third in the Western Conference at 54-28 after beating San Antonio on the final day, while Los Angeles finished fourth at 53-29 after its win over Utah. (nba.com) That set two first-round series in the West before the play-in even starts: Denver will face Minnesota, and the Lakers will face Houston when the playoffs open on Saturday, April 18. (sports.yahoo.com) In the East, Toronto avoided the play-in by finishing 46-36 and moved into the guaranteed playoff bracket with Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland and Atlanta. (sports.yahoo.com) The Eastern bracket now has New York against Atlanta in the 3-6 matchup and Cleveland against Toronto in the 4-5 matchup, while Detroit and Boston wait for play-in winners. (nba.com) The play-in tournament fills the seventh and eighth seeds, with teams ranked seventh through tenth in each conference playing from April 14 through April 17. (nba.com) In the East, Philadelphia hosts Orlando in the 7-8 game and Charlotte faces Miami in the 9-10 game. In the West, Phoenix plays Portland in the 7-8 game and the Los Angeles Clippers play Golden State in the 9-10 game. (sports.yahoo.com) The top of each conference had already been decided before Sunday: Oklahoma City and San Antonio took the first two seeds in the West, and Detroit and Boston took the first two seeds in the East. (sports.yahoo.com) The bracket is fixed now, but four playoff spots are still open. Those last two matchups in each conference will be decided by Friday night, with the full first round ready for the April 18 tipoff. (cbssports.com)