The Boston Celtics defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 135-100 on Wednesday night, securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Kristaps Porzisis' 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks helped the Celtics pick up the pace and outscore the Thunder 42-17 in the fourth quarter. Jayson Tatum added 24 points.
Home court advantage is already decided, but there's still plenty of room to decipher the playoff picture as the regular season draws to a close.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the latest standings along with three notable races as the playoffs quickly approach. All results due Wednesday at 10:30pm ET.
eastern conference
1. Boston Celtics 60-16 (home court advantage guaranteed)
2. Milwaukee Bucks: 47-29
3. Cleveland Cavaliers: 46-30
4. Orlando Magic: 45-31
5. New York Knicks: 44-31
6. Miami Heat: 42-33
7. Indiana Pacers: 43-34
8. Philadelphia 76ers: 41-35
9. Chicago Bulls: 36-40 (play-in)
10. Atlanta Hawks: 36-40 (play-in)
11. Brooklyn Nets: 30-47 (defeated)
12. Toronto Raptors: 23-53 (defeated)
13. Charlotte Hornets: 18-58 (defeated)
14. Washington Wizards: 15-62 (defeated)
15. Detroit Pistons: 13-63 (defeated)
The top six teams in each conference automatically advance to the playoffs. The 7th through 10th seeds from each conference will participate in his two play-in tournaments to determine the final two teams in his bracket in the East-West Playoffs.
western conference
1. Denver Nuggets: 53-23
2. Minnesota Timberwolves: 53-23
3. Oklahoma City Thunder: 52-24
4. Los Angeles Clippers: 47-28
5. Dallas Mavericks: 45-30
6. New Orleans Pelicans: 45-31
7. Sacramento Kings: 44-31
8. Phoenix Suns: 44-31
9. Los Angeles Lakers: 44-33
10. Golden State Warriors: 41 wins, 34 losses
11. Houston Rockets: 38-37
12. Utah Jazz: 29-47 (defeated)
13. Memphis Grizzlies: 25-50 (defeated)
14. Portland Trail Blazers: 20-56 (defeated)
15. San Antonio Spurs: 18-58 (defeated)
Battle for top 6 in the Eastern Conference (Teams to watch: 4th to 8th)
The Orlando Magic are in fourth place, but have had a brutal finish (Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, home in Milwaukee).
The struggling New York Knicks are in fifth place, but have lost three straight. A strange scheduling quirk means they will play the Chicago Bulls three times in 10 calendar days. The sixth-place Miami Heat are enjoying a strong finish with three straight wins and two home games against the 53-loss Toronto Raptors.
The seventh-place Indiana Pacers will have tough matches against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Philadelphia 76ers are in 8th place, but the return of Joel Embiid certainly helps.
Western Conference Home Court Advantage (Teams to watch: 1st to 3rd place)
The Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves should make up the top three in the West. However, no one knows where they will fall.
Denver has a favorable schedule, with four of the team's last six games coming against teams with losing records. However, a road matchup with the No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers and a home date with the T-Wolves are mixed in.
The Timberwolves only have a few games left on their schedule with two games against the now-healthy Phoenix Suns and visits to Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, they should be heavy favorites against the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks at home.
OKC will benefit from playing its final four games at home, but four of its final six games will be against teams with winning records (Milwaukee, Dallas, Sacramento, Indiana).
Western Conference Top 6 (Teams to watch: 5th to 9th)
This is the biggest upset among those teams, with the teams in fifth through ninth all sitting with 44 or 45 wins.
Dallas is trailing at 11-2 and should be considered a top-six favorite here, with some very winnable games against Detroit, Atlanta, and Charlotte.
The New Orleans Pelicans have lost four of five games and have a four-game preseason road swing in the Western Conference (three of which are against Phoenix, Sacramento and Golden State).
Phoenix has a tough schedule, and literally every upcoming opponent could be a postseason team from the Western Conference. The short-handed Kings, missing Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter with injuries, will finish with four road trips and three home games (two against the Pelicans and Suns).
The Lakers are trailing in their group with 33 losses, and the most likely scenario would see them face the Golden State Warriors in 9/10 games.
