LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are staying in New Orleans for a couple more days. Stephen Curry and Golden State will head back to Sacramento to face elimination again. And the Miami Heat are back in the play-in, which started their run to the NBA Finals last year.
The play-in field is set. On Tuesday, it's the Lakers facing the Pelicans for a No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, then the Warriors and the Kings in an elimination game. On Wednesday, it's the Heat going to Philadelphia to decide No. 7 in the Eastern Conference, followed by Atlanta at Chicago in a win-or-else matchup.
鈥淟ook, this is the best time of year,鈥� Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. 鈥淭hese kind of environments, the games, the context ... you can鈥檛 expect it to be easy.鈥�
Of the 20 postseason seeds, 15 were decided on Sunday, as were three of the four play-in matchups and three of the four first-round series that don't include play-in teams.
The final order in the East: Boston, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Orlando, Indiana, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. In the West, the order from No. 1 to No. 10 is Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas, Phoenix, New Orleans, the Lakers, Sacramento and Golden State.
鈥淕ood momentum going into the playoffs,鈥� Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after his team finished No. 1 in the West. 鈥淣othing to complain about. ... We won a lot of basketball games. That's what it's all about. That's what everybody laces their shoes up for, to win basketball games and have a chance to win a championship.鈥�
The only first-round series that was set before Sunday was Clippers-Mavericks in the West. Added to the list now: Bucks-Pacers and Cavaliers-Magic in the East, along with Timberwolves-Suns in the West.
The games themselves didn't bring much drama on the regular season's final day. Of the 15 games, only one was decided by one possession 鈥� and it was at Madison Square Garden, where New York got a big win. in overtime, a result that let them leapfrog Milwaukee for No. 2 in the East.
鈥淎 hell of a regular season,鈥� Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 get ready for the playoffs.鈥�
Among the biggest blowouts on Sunday: by 49 to wrap up No. 1 in the West, Indiana stayed out of the play-in by beating Atlanta by 42, by 39, San Antonio topped Detroit by 28 and Orlando 鈥� which could have been in the play-in with a loss 鈥� rolled past Milwaukee by 25.
won 47 games to capture the Southeast Division and get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
鈥淪o proud of them,鈥� Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not really a lot of words for it. You talk about a group who has been up, been down, battled back, resilient ... they proved it. Big stakes, they took it in their own hands.鈥�
The Heat-76ers winner will face No. 2 seed New York in Round 1 of the playoffs, and the loser will play host to the Hawks-Bulls winner on Friday night for the chance to meet No. 1 overall seed Boston. The Lakers-Pelicans winner gets the No. 7 seed and will play defending champion Denver in Round 1 鈥� the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets last season 鈥� and the Lakers-Pelicans loser will face the Sacramento-Golden State winner for the right to play No. 1 Oklahoma City.
won a Game 7 at Sacramento last season to advance. The Warriors will have to win a play-in game there Tuesday that'll have Game 7-type consequences.
鈥淚t'll be a great atmosphere,鈥� Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. 鈥淲e were there last year, obviously. They'll have their crowd behind them. It's nice to not get on a plane. So, we'll take the bus up there tomorrow, have a day to prepare and be ready to go.鈥�
The only spot that switched in the East on Sunday was No. 2 and No. 3 between the Knicks and Bucks. The West saw two flips on the final day: passed Minnesota for No. 2 and helped send the Timberwolves to No. 3, while Phoenix jumped up one spot to No. 6 and the Pelicans dropped one to No. 7.
and now will head back there for a Game 1 next weekend.
鈥淚t's time now,鈥� Suns guard Bradley Beal said. 鈥淚t starts now.鈥�
Cleveland is the No. 4 seed in the East for the second consecutive year. The Cavaliers had a chance to move to No. 2 or No. 3 with a win on Sunday and led lottery-bound Charlotte by 13 with 10 minutes remaining.
And yet they didn't seem to want to move up much, getting outscored 30-7 the rest of the way. in coach Steve Clifford's final game with the Hornets.
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
