The New York Knicks overtook the Milwaukee Bucks in second place in the Eastern Conference on the final day of the NBA regular season on Sunday, which confirmed that incumbent finalist Miami will have to go through the play-offs.
The Knicks put on a show in Madison Square Garden for their 82nd and final regular season game on Sunday, only defeating the Chicago Bulls after overtime (120-119), thanks to 40 points from their All-Star leader Jalen Brunson (8 rebounds, 7 assists).
New York thus takes second place in the Eastern Conference to the detriment of the Milwaukee Bucks, beaten in Orlando by the Magic (113-88), who secured fifth place.
The suspense at the top of the rankings had long been extinguished by the Boston Celtics, winners for the 64th time of the season (18 defeats) against the Washington Wizards (132-122).
The Cleveland Cavaliers, who once hoped for second place, were beaten by the Charlotte Hornets (120-110) and finally finished fourth to find Orlando in the first round of the play-offs.
The Indiana Pacers, who crushed the Atlanta Hawks (157-115), snatched sixth place, the last directly qualifying for the play-offs, where they will face Milwaukee, which hopes to be able to count on its star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Miami Heat, finalist last season against Denver, ultimately eighth, will have to go through the play-offs despite their success against the Toronto Raptors (118-103).
The Heat will travel to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, who have seen the return of pivot Joel Embiid for a few days, for a dry qualifying match for the play-offs. The loser of this meeting will face the winner of the match between the Chicago Bulls (9th) and the Atlanta Hawks (10th) on Friday for the last ticket.
2024-04-14 20:31:22
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