NBA season finale drama
The NBA regular season ends today with nine games carrying postseason implications as teams jostle for seeding and play‑in positions. (nbcsports.com) Entering the final day, 11 of the 12 top‑six playoff spots were already decided but not a single first‑round matchup was locked, and the Knicks clinched the No. 5 seed after beating Cleveland 112‑95 on Friday. (cbssports.com) (bleacherreport.com)
The National Basketball Association regular season ends Sunday, April 12, with playoff seeding still unsettled in both conferences. (nba.com) The league said 10 seeds could still change on the final day, including the Eastern Conference No. 5 through No. 10 spots and the Western Conference No. 3 and No. 4, plus No. 8 and No. 9. The SoFi Play-In Tournament starts April 14, and the first round opens April 18. (nba.com) Eleven of the 12 top-six playoff spots were already secured entering Sunday, but no first-round series was locked in. CBS Sports reported one playoff spot and 10 postseason seeds would be decided on the last day. (cbssports.com) In the East, Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland had already locked in the top four seeds, while Atlanta had clinched a playoff berth and could secure No. 5 with a win over Miami on Sunday. Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia were still alive for the last guaranteed playoff spot at No. 6. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) The New York Knicks were fixed at No. 3 and the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 4 by Sunday morning, according to the official standings. Charlotte and Miami were set for the East's No. 9 versus No. 10 play-in game, with home court still in play. (espn.com) (cbssports.com) In the West, Oklahoma City had clinched No. 1, San Antonio No. 2, Houston No. 5, Minnesota No. 6, Phoenix No. 7 and Golden State No. 10. Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers were still sorting out No. 3 and No. 4, while the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland were still sorting out No. 8 and No. 9. (nba.com) Sunday’s schedule put several of those races on the floor at once. Denver played at San Antonio, the Lakers hosted Utah, Golden State visited the Clippers, Portland hosted Sacramento, Atlanta played at Miami, Philadelphia hosted Milwaukee, Toronto hosted Brooklyn and Orlando played at Boston. (espn.com) Friday’s results set up the chaos. Atlanta beat Cleveland 124-102 to clinch a playoff spot and the Southeast Division, while the Lakers clinched a top-four seed and Houston was locked into No. 5 after losing to Minnesota, according to CBS Sports and ESPN’s game recap. (espn.com) (cbssports.com) The play-in format is what keeps the board moving on the last day. Teams that finish seventh through 10th in each conference go into a four-team mini-bracket, while the top six avoid that round and go straight to the playoffs. (espn.com) (nba.com) By Sunday night, the bracket will finally stop shifting. Until the last games end, the National Basketball Association still has matchups, home court and two conferences’ play-in pairings hanging on one slate. (apnews.com)
