With the conclusion of the Atlanta Hawks’ play-in game against the Miami Heat on Tuesday, we are now just one game away from learning what the Eastern Conference bracket will look like heading into the NBA playoffs. The Hawks caught the Heat flat-footed on Tuesday, leading by 21 in the first half at one point.
Miami entered the matchup as five-point favorites but couldn’t hold off Trae Young and the Hawks, who won 116-105, with seven players scoring in the double digits. Young alone put up 25, to go with seven assists and eight rebounds. The Heat couldn’t stay in the game despite the best efforts of Kyle Lowry, whose 33 points were the most in a game this year. Ouch.
As Bill Simmons put it, the Hawks “bully-balled” the Heat.
- Atlanta will meet the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. But the Hawks have got a long road ahead of them, opening as eight-point underdogs against Boston.
- The Celtics are 3-0 against the Hawks this season. Over in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers escaped with a 108-102 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves after overcoming a 15-point deficit.
- LeBron James led the way with 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Anthony Davis had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Dennis Schröder added 21 points off the bench.
The win sets up a first-round matchup against the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, who lost two out of the three regular-season games against Los Angeles this year. On Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, the Chicago Bulls will take on the Toronto Raptors to determine the final playoff team in the East, with the winner advancing to take on the Heat for the chance to play against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The Raptors head into the game as 5.5-point favorites.
That game will be followed by the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder facing off for the chance to face the Timberwolves with the No. 8 seed in the West on the line, which would pit the winner against the No. 1 Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans are 5.5-point favorites over the Thunder. Let’s take a look at the East and West brackets as they currently stand following the conclusion of Tuesday’s play-in games.
Eastern Conference Bracket
- Milwaukee Bucks vs. 8. Toronto Raptors/Chicago Bulls/Miami Heat
- Boston Celtics vs. 7. Atlanta Hawks
- Philadelphia 76ers vs. 6. Brooklyn Nets
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 5. New York Knicks
Western Conference Bracket
- Denver Nuggets vs. 8. New Orleans Pelicans/Oklahoma City Thunder/Minnesota Timberwolves
- Memphis Grizzlies vs. 7. Los Angeles Lakers
- Sacramento Kings vs. 6. Golden State Warriors
- Phoenix Suns vs. 5. Los Angeles Clippers
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