Eastern Conference play-in field set
Orlando blew out Milwaukee, Indiana blew out Atlanta, Philadelphia blew out Brooklyn and Miami blew out Toronto.
And all that meant this: Nothing on the bottom half of the Eastern Conference's playoff chase changed on the final day of the regular season.
It will be eighth-seeded Miami visiting seventh-seeded Philadelphia in an East play-in game on Wednesday, followed by 10th-seeded Atlanta visiting ninthseeded Chicago in an elimination game later that night. 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.
The winner of that game will play No. 1 seed Boston in Round 1, starting April 21 at Boston.
“Look, this is the best time of year,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team started in the play-in last season and wound up in the NBA Finals. “These kind of environments, the games, the context ... you can't expect it to be easy.”
The East result set the game schedule for the Western Conference as well, with both of those play-in games set for Tuesday. Those matchups — Sacramento, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State will be joined by either Phoenix or New Orleans — will be set later.
The full order in the East: Boston is No. 1, followed by New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Orlando, Indiana, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta.
Orlando won 47 games to capture the Southeast Division and get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Had things gone differently Sunday, the Magic might have been assured of no more than a play-in spot.
The only spot that switched in the East on Sunday was No. 2 and No. 3. The Knicks' 120-119 overtime win over Chicago got them past Milwaukee, sending the Bucks to No. 3.
Embiid sits as 76ers rout Nets
After eight straight wins to end the regular season, the 76ers are set for their first play-in tournament.
Joel Embiid expects to be along for the ride.
Embiid sat out Philadelphia's 107-86 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday as a precaution, two days after he tweaked his surgically repaired left knee. Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points and Tobias Harris had 21 points to lead the Sixers.
Last season's NBA MVP, Embiid wasn't needed in the rout, but he'll be in the lineup when the 76ers host Miami on Wednesday night in the NBA play-in tournament. The winner secures the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and gets a playoff series against the second-seeded New York Knicks.