Starting 5, April 4: Celtics clinch best record in NBA
When you move up to 6th & into guaranteed Playoff berth territory, with 10 days left to play…
THE LINEUP
What’s inside today’s edition?
Boston’s Best: Boston clinched the best record in the NBA, while Minnesota is No. 1 in the West again
Suns Rise: Phoenix jumped from eighth to sixth in the West, while NOLA and Indy fell into the Play-In
Lakers Stay Hot: L.A. won for the eighth time in nine games, while Atlanta clinched a Play-In berth
Playoff Race Updates: The East postseason teams are set, but there are still seeds to be determined
Playoff Feel: The Rockets (vs. Warriors) and Sixers (at Heat) face near must-win games tonight
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Last night’s scores & what to watch today.
Kings-Knicks (7:30 ET, TNT): The Kings look for their third straight win while the Knicks try to snap a three-game slide with both teams battling for postseason position
Nuggets-Clippers (10 ET, TNT): Denver can take back first place in the West with a win, while LA looks to solidify its top-four position
1. CELTICS CLINCH BEST RECORD IN NBA, WOLVES BACK ATOP WEST
For the first time since 2007-08, the Celtics will finish the regular season with the best record in the NBA following their 135-100 win over the shorthanded Thunder. The Celtics improved to 60-16 on the season, their first 60+ win season since 2008-09. Recap
- Jaylen Brown: “A lotta hard work went into that… when the playoffs start, it’s back to square one.”
- Triple Threat: The Boston trio of Kristaps Porzingis (27 pts, 12 reb, 5 blk), Jayson Tatum (24 pts, 7 reb) and Brown (23 pts, 7 reb) combined for 74 points in the win
- Must-See Plays: Derrick White, who ranks 17th in blocks while standing 6-foot-4, with strong post defense and the block on Chet Holmgren … Porzingis with a poster putback dunk (see it from inside the arena)
- 1st Celtic Ever: Porzingis became the first Celtics player to post 100+ blocks and 100+ 3s in a season. KP is one of six players to hit those marks this season, joining Holmgren, Brook Lopez, Myles Turner, Victor Wembanyama and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Wolves Back On Top: Minnesota’s largest win of the season (48 points) helped them return to the top of the West.
Anthony Edwards (28 pts, including two on this smooth stepback) and Naz Reid (23 pts, 7 reb) led the way as the Wolves took control in the second quarter and rolled to a 133-85 win over Toronto. | Recap
2. SUNS CLIMB TO 6TH, PELICANS & PACERS DROP INTO PLAY-IN
Booker Leads Suns To Sixth: After Cleveland led 12-7, the Suns closed the first quarter on a 27-8 run, building a double-digit lead that they never relinquished. Devin Booker (40 pts, 8 ast) and Kevin Durant (32 pts) combined for 72 in a 122-101 win to lift Phoenix into the Playoff field. | Recap
- Must-See Plays: Devin Booker with the eurostep and-1 finish in traffic … Durant with the tough falling shot over Evan Mobley … and his patented middy pull-up off the drive
Nets Drop Pacers: Cam Thomas (27 pts) and Noah Clowney (career-high 22 pts, 10 reb) led the Nets to a 115-111 win over the Pacers. Despite the win, Brooklyn was eliminated from postseason contention due to Atlanta’s win. | Recap
- Lob Lessons: Prior to the game, Obi Toppin gave some tips on how to throw an alley-oop pass to a young fan. TJ McConnell must have been paying attention, unleashing this lob to Toppin from beyond halfcourt
Magic Win 3rd Straight: Paolo Banchero (32 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast) and Franz Wagner (24 pts, 5 ast) combined for 56 points to lead the Magic to a 117-108 win over the Pelicans. NOLA lost its third straight, falling into the Play-In field despite CJ McCollum’s game-high 36 points. | Recap
Grizzlies Pull Away Late: Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 12 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies outscored the Bucks 24-12 over the final 7:56 to earn a 111-101 win. Brook Lopez (25 pts, 10 reb) and Giannis (21 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast, 5 blk) combined for 46 in the loss. | Recap
3. LAKERS STAY HOT, HAWKS CLINCH PLAY-IN BERTH
Lakers Win 3rd Straight: Anthony Davis scored 19 in the first quarter and finished with 35 points, 18 boards and three blocks to lead the Lakers to a 125-120 win over the Wizards for their eighth win in their last nine games.
LeBron added 25 points and nine assists, while Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 29 points. | Recap
- LeBron: “We want to continue to play good basketball. The postseason’s still kind of a ways away. … Postseason prep, all that other stuff is totally different from the regular season, so wherever we fall is where we fall.”
Hawks Clinch Play-In: Jalen Johnson (28 pts, 14 reb, 11 ast) posted his first career triple-double, while DeAndre Hunter (26 pts) and Dejounte Murray (24 pts, 11 ast) combined for 50 to offset Malachi Flynn’s career night (50 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl) and beat the Pistons 121-113. | Recap
- 50+ Off The Bench: Flynn became the third player to score 50+ points off the bench, joining Jamal Crawford and Nick Anderson since bench stats have been tracked (1970-71). Flynn’s 72% shooting is the highest of the trio
Blazers Snap 10-Game Slide: Deandre Ayton (24 pts, 16 reb) and Scoot Henderson (22 pts, 10 ast) posted double-doubles to lead the Blazers to an 89-86 win over the Hornets for their first win since March 13. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 21 points. | Recap
4. PLAYOFF PICTURE: EAST TEAMS SET
The race for the 2024 NBA Playoffs has reached the home stretch with teams looking to secure their spot over the season’s final 10 days.
With so many races to watch, we’ll highlight all the team movement from each day here in the Starting 5.
Let’s begin in the East, where the 10 teams that have qualified for the Playoffs or SoFi Play-In Tournament have been determined, but seeding is still in flux for most teams.
- ☑️ The Celtics clinched the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage in all playoff series
- ↔️ The Bucks remain second, 1.5 games up on No. 3 Cleveland, but saw their lead over No. 4 Orlando cut to two games
- ↔️ The Cavs remain third, 1.5 games back of No. 2 Milwaukee, but only a half-game up on No. 4 Orlando and one game up on No. 5 New York
- ↔️ The Magic remain fourth, moving a half-game back of No. 3 Cleveland and a half-game up on No. 5 New York
- ⬇️ The Pacers dropped from sixth to seventh with the No. 6 Heat edging them out by .002 in win percentage. Indy and Miami are two games back of No. 5 New York and 1.5 games up on No. 8 Philadelphia
- ☑️ The Hawks clinched a spot in the Play-In and pull even with No. 9 Chicago at 36-40, but remain 10th in the East as the Bulls hold the tiebreaker
- ❌ The Nets were eliminated from postseason contention due to Atlanta’s win over Detroit
In the West…
- ⬆️ The Wolves climbed to first, owning the tiebreaker with Denver as the two have matching 53-23 records. Both Minnesota and Denver are one game up on No. 3 OKC
- ↔️ The Thunder remain third, dropping a full game back of No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Denver
- ⬆️ The Suns jumped from eighth to sixth, holding the tiebreaker over No. 7 New Orleans and moving a half-game up on No. 8 Sacramento. Both the Suns and Pelicans are a half-game back of No. 5 Dallas
- ⬇️ The Pelicans dropped from sixth to seventh, as their loss and Phoenix’s win have the teams tied at 45-31, with the Suns holding the tiebreaker. The Pelicans and Suns are a half-game back of No. 5 Dallas and a half-game up on No. 8 Sacramento
- ↔️ The Lakers remain ninth, pulling within one game of No. 8 Sacramento and 1.5 games of No. 6 Phoenix and No. 7 New Orleans. The Lakers also move two games up on No. 10 Golden State
Following Wednesday’s games, the updated bracket below looks at the matchups if the postseason began today.
5. CRUNCHTIME FOR ROCKETS, SIXERS
If the Rockets want to keep their hopes of reaching the postseason alive, they’ll need to do something they have not done since Feb. 20, 2020…
Beat the Warriors.
Houston has lost 12 straight games to Golden State – tied for the third-longest active win streak vs. a single opponent – and enters tonight’s game (8 ET, NBA App) three games back of the No. 10 Warriors for the final spot in the SoFi Play-In Tournament in the West.
The Rockets face as close to a must-win game as possible without mathematically being eliminated with a loss
- A loss puts the Rockets four games back with six games to play
- The Warriors hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, so the Rockets must finish with a better record to overtake the Warriors
- That means the Rockets would need to go 6-0, while the Warriors go 1-5 or 0-6 to end the season
With so much on the line, this game should give as much of a Playoff or Play-In feel that a regular-season game can deliver.
Houston caught fire with an 11-game win streak to put the pressure on Golden State, but the Warriors have responded with five straight wins and a chance to deliver a crushing blow to Houston’s hopes tonight.
With Joel Embiid back, do the Sixers have enough time – with only six games to play – to climb out of the Play-In field and secure a guaranteed Playoff berth with a top six finish?
Tonight’s game against Miami (7:30 ET, NBA App) will go a long way toward answering that question.
- Philly (41-35) enters tonight 1.5 games back of both No. 6 Miami (42-33) and No. 7 Indiana (43-34)
- The Pacers own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Sixers (2-1 season series), but the Sixers can tie the Heat (2-2) with a win tonight, while also gaining a full game on Miami
- This may be the fourth (and final) regular-season matchup between the Sixers and Heat, but it will be the first with either Embiid or Jimmy Butler, who each missed the first three games
Embiid shined with 24 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals (including the game-sealer) in Philly’s win over OKC on Tuesday. He was visibly spent in the game’s closing moments after giving everything he had in his 29:21 minutes on the court.
Can he conjure up another winning effort tonight to help the Sixers improve their playoff hopes? Both Embiid and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey (who’s missed the last two games with a hip injury) are listed as questionable.
