Play‑in final games set
Bookmakers posted opening lines for the Hornets vs. Magic play‑in — the winner will claim the conference’s last playoff berth, per DraftKings Network (dknetwork.draftkings.com). Meanwhile the Phoenix Suns still have one last do‑or‑die chance to reach the postseason with their game set for Friday, April 17 (usatoday.com).
Two winner-take-all National Basketball Association play-in games are now set for Friday, April 17, with Charlotte visiting Orlando in the East and Golden State traveling to Phoenix in the West. (nba.com) The play-in tournament gives the teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference one last path into the bracket for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds. The final two games on Friday will decide the No. 8 seed in each conference before the first round starts Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) Charlotte reached the Eastern Conference final play-in game by beating Miami 127-126 in overtime on Tuesday, April 14. LaMelo Ball scored 30 points, and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell at the buzzer to end it. (espn.com) Orlando dropped into that same elimination game after losing 109-97 at Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 15. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points as the 76ers claimed the East’s No. 7 seed and a first-round series against Boston. (nba.com) DraftKings Network posted Orlando as the opening favorite against Charlotte, listing the Magic at minus 4.5 with a total of 219.5 points. The winner gets Detroit, the East’s No. 1 seed, in the first round. (dknetwork.draftkings.com, nba.com) In the West, Phoenix is still alive despite losing 114-110 at home to Portland on Tuesday, April 14, in the No. 7 versus No. 8 game. That result sent the Trail Blazers into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed and pushed the Suns into one more elimination game. (nba.com, nba.com) Golden State earned the trip to Phoenix by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 on Wednesday, April 15. Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 27 in the second half, as the Warriors erased a late deficit. (nba.com) The Suns-Warriors game is scheduled for Friday, April 17, in Phoenix, and the winner takes the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed. National ticket listings and team announcements both point to that do-or-die matchup on the same date. (usatoday.com, nba.com) By the end of Friday night, the play-in field will be gone and the 16-team playoff bracket will be complete. Saturday’s first round opens with Detroit waiting on the East winner and Oklahoma City waiting on the West winner. (nba.com, nba.com)
