The play-in round arrives, and drama awaits
After 1,230 games, here's where things stand: 12 teams are in the playoffs, 10 teams are done and eight teams are about to fight for the final four postseason spots.
The NBA's play-in tournament starts Tuesday with the Western Conference games. The eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers visit seventh-seeded New Orleans, and 10thseeded Golden State plays an elimination game at ninth-seeded Sacramento.
The Lakers-Pelicans winner is the No. 7 seed and takes on Denver in Round 1; the Lakers-Pelicans loser will play host to the Warriors-Kings winner on Friday to decide who is the No. 8 seed and takes on Oklahoma City. The Warriors-Kings loser is eliminated.
The East play-in games are on Wednesday. Eighth-seeded Miami visits seventhseeded Philadelphia, and 10th-seeded Atlanta plays at Chicago. The Heat-76ers winner will face No. 2 New York; the other play-in survivor from the East will meet No. 1 Boston.
NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE
Tuesday
7:30 p.m. Eastern — Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans, TNT
10 p.m. Eastern — Golden State at Sacramento, TNT
Wednesday
7 p.m. Eastern — Miami at Philadelphia, ESPN
9:30 p.m. Eastern — Atlanta at Chicago, ESPN
WHO'S IN/WHO'S OUT
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Boston vs. Friday East play-in game winner, series starting Sunday
No. 2 New York vs. Miami or Philadelphia, series starting Saturday
No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 6 Indiana, series starting Sunday
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Orlando, series starting Saturday
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. Friday West playin game winner, series starting Sunday
No. 2 Denver vs. Los Angeles Lakers or New Orleans, series starting Saturday
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Phoenix, series starting Saturday
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas, series starting Sunday
Brooklyn, Toronto, Charlotte, Washington, Detroit, Houston, Utah, Memphis, Portland, and San Antonio all saw their seasons end Sunday.
BETTING GUIDE
Boston has home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs and currently is the heavy favorite to win the championship, according to BetMGM. The Celtics are listed at +175, well ahead of defending champion Denver (+320). Next up: the Clippers (+1200), followed by Milwaukee (+1300) and both Oklahoma City and Dallas (each +1600).
WHAT TO KNOW
— A look at the NBA, by the numbers this season.
— How the field was set on a wild Sunday in the NBA.
STAT OF THE DAY
The NBA season-high for points in a game by a team this season was 157. It happened twice — both times by Indiana, and in both cases, the opponent was Atlanta.
The Pacers finished the regular season with 10,110 points. That's fourth most in a regular season in NBA history. The others: Denver scored 10,371 in 1981-82, the Nuggets scored 10,147 in 1983-84 and Philadelphia scored 10,143 in 1966-67.