CLEVELAND — It took 82 games and five extra minutes to determine the second-best team in the Eastern Conference.
On the final day of the unprecedented NBA regular season, Game 82 drew more attention across both conferences than at any point in the league's 77-year history, as the New York Knicks defeated the Chicago Bulls in overtime, 120. He finished second in the East with a score of 119. The Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers also won on Sunday, but the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks lost in embarrassing fashion.
As a result, the guaranteed matchups in the first round of the East are No. 5 Orlando vs. No. 4 Cleveland, and No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 3 Milwaukee.
On Wednesday, the No. 7 Sixers will host No. 8 Miami in one game of the play-in tournament, with the winner facing No. 2 New York in a first-round series. The Boston Celtics, who finished with a 14-game lead in the East Division, had the largest lead over the second-place team since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, and the winner of the play-in finale (Miami vs. Philly loser vs. Miami・Wait for Philly's loser). Winner of No. 10 Atlanta vs. No. 9 Chicago).
All Western teams will play on Sunday at 3:30pm ET, with more to come once the games are over.
If the Masters is a tournament like no other, the same can be said for this special season-ending day in the NBA.
Through 81 games, this is the first time in league history that three teams held the same record with a chance to finish in first place in the conference, as when the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the West. That was it. Also, on the same side of the bracket, only the LA Clippers (4th place) and Dallas Mavericks (5th place) were guaranteed to remain in the spots they held through 81 contests. The Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans both entered Sunday in sixth place, with just one game separating eighth (Los Angeles Lakers) and 10th (Golden State Warriors).
All 30 teams played on Sunday. By the end of the day, there will be 18 teams with at least a .500 mark. This is another league record for him.
Sunday began with a game between the Bucks, Knicks, and Cavs for the No. 2 seed. Milwaukee faltered late (14-12 since the All-Star break), struggled under new manager Doc Rivers, and ultimately pulled their starters in the fourth quarter of a 113-88 loss at the hands of the Magic. We lost and fell into the play-in. A win would have given the Bucks second place. Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined last week due to a calf injury.
In Cleveland, the Cavs were in second place in the East at the All-Star break, but then Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Darius Garland and others all held out against the Charlotte Hornets, but with just nine players playing, they were tied for one. Rotation player. However, early in the first quarter, the Cavs' only uniformed ball handler, Craig Porter Jr., sprained his ankle and was unable to return. The Cavs led by 13 points at the beginning of the fourth, coach JB Bickerstaff pulled most of the remaining rotation players, and Cleveland's only offensive lineman trying to put the ball down was Tristan Thompson, yes, Tristan Thompson. It ended with a lineup that appeared to be. A floor for making something happen.
Even against an end-of-venture and G-Leaguer lineup like the one the Hornets last had on the floor, such a stupid idea won't work. In Steve Clifford's final game as Hornets manager, the Cavs lost 120-110, drawing boos from the home fans in the closing minutes.
A win would have vaulted the Cavs past the Bucks into third place and prevented them from facing the Celtics until the potential conference finals. Meanwhile, the Knicks got 40 points from All-Star Jalen Brunson and 25 points from Donte DiVincenzo, who played the full 53 minutes. Obviously, second place meant more to some teams than others.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been trying to make this regular season more meaningful, and while he has said nothing about each specific method he has chosen, he has not received the desired end result. Ta. Silver created a new tournament, asked the players to reduce the number of games they missed, and, with the players' approval, changed the rules to encourage more participation. He also called on his players to work harder at the All-Star Game.
“I don't know if this is due to in-season changes or other influences or if it's because I think the league is in a really good position in terms of depth of talent,” Bickerstaff said. “The level of competition across the league from top to bottom is very good and very balanced, so I think it makes the games more attractive.”
The in-season tournament was a success by all accounts. The championship featured LeBron James and the Lakers, and considering Los Angeles' proximity to Las Vegas, where the tournament's semifinals and finals were held, a large crowd was inevitable. LA's title game victory over the Pacers was the most-watched non-Christmas NBA regular season game since 2018.
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New league rules that limit load management and increase the number of star players playing in nationally televised games have sparked controversy. That's largely because certain rules tied honors like MVP to the number of games played, but generally because many of the NBA's best players have played in the league. Go to court more often.
For example, among the league's perennial MVP candidates, only reigning MVP Embiid failed to reach the minimum 65 games required to qualify, with the rest finishing by a comfortable margin. This season, far more than last season, the league's top 50 scorers played in at least 80% of games. Also, of the top 10 MVP vote-getters last season, only two played in more than 70 games.
The All-Star Game remained, well, a joke, with little attention from either team, and a new All-Star record for total points scored in a single game was broken.
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But Silver's other two efforts paid off, and here he is, finishing his 10th season on the job with a final day of the regular season that offers more than any other final day in league history. is conducting.
This story will be updated.
(Top photo of Jalen Brunson: Elsa/Getty Images)
