Eastern Conference top 4 through games played on March 29. Boston clinched home court advantage in this second round series when the Celtics won in Memphis with a full complement of players whereas the Bucks sat most of their rotation players on the final day of the regular season. Still a game to be played between Mavericks and Jazz that could change how this tiebreaker would pan out. Boston has the edgehere, owning a 20-13 record against the 10 Eastern Conference playoff qualifiers (a field that is set). Facing elimination, Jayson Tatum steps up with 46 points for the Celtics, who withstand another brilliant performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pretty much at whole strength against a team thats 2-0 against Boston so far this year. 1 in the West. All rights reserved. 10 Atlanta (Nets hold tiebreaker). The plus-minus is a tough stat, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. But as Holiday saw it, there was no overcoming Bostons 3-point prowess in this one. The Celtics shot 46.5%, the Bucks 16.7%. 3/24/2021 - AP. The season series also is tied, and the third and final meeting between these teams isn't until March 30 in Milwaukee. Celtics fans should be rooting for Atlanta to take the No. The Celtics have the toughest schedule of any of the top four teams in the East as their remaining opponents have a combined win percentage of .548 and four of their final six games come against teams that are not just over .500, but over .600 so far this season. The Celtics led by 12 points at one point in the third quarter, but the Bucks made a huge run and hit several clutch shots late in the fourth quarter to take a 116-113 lead with 7.4 seconds remaining. Maybe its possible this offseason if Irving sticks around. "It felt like we didnt; the one thing wed like to finish the stop. The 27-year-old was signed on Feb. 16 after he was waived by the Brooklyn Nets and played in eight games for the Bucks. There was chatter after Game 6 focused on the end of the regular season, when Boston closed out with a victory over Memphis while Milwaukee went belly-up at Cleveland. 9:20 pm ET, Jayson Tatum turnaround mid-range jumper: make, Jayson Tatum fadeaway mid-range jumper: miss, Jaylen Brown pull-up mid-range jumper: miss. And so it went. Updated probabilities via @bball_ref: pic.twitter.com/Qv7Q1VZGKg. Gamecast; Recap; Box Score; Play-by . I mean, I could come up here and pout and be sad and Im sure there would be a big story about how were defeated and I dont believe in us, the 24-year-old said that night. Even if hes back in time for the postseason, with how far thePelicanshave dropped, the climb is going to be too steep for them this year. Golden State Warriors. Everything you need to know regarding current seeds, matchups and tiebreaker scenarios can be found here. Stephen Curry has been so good when hes been on the floor this year. The Celtics and Heat meet for the final time in the regular season on Wednesday. Lets get it on. big time play. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I dont think anybody in this league plays to lose. 10:29 pm ET, at src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. And the role players are all thriving playing off Joker. Boston has by far the hardest schedule, although the Grizzlies are locked into the Western Conference's No. Then he pulled up for a 3. 7 spot in the playoffs and a matchup with the No. Back then, my highly scientific (a.k.a. 7 seed. On Tuesday, we laid out how the Boston Celtics' Eastern Conference competitors could do them a solid in their quest for an ideal NBA playoff draw. Entering Wednesdays games, there are 12 days and just 96 games remaining in the 2021-22 regular season. They desperately need a healthy Gary Payton II for the playoffs. 9:29 pm ET, at Thats why Phoenix ends up behind the other squads on this list. White is averaging 22.5 points in February (seven games) on 52.2 percent shooting. 9 or 10 seed, which would require them to win two games in order to get into the first round of the playoffs. Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee (.617) trails both Miami (.652) and Boston (.638) in conference win percentage. If they get neither, they're going to be the No. East teams jockeying for position, matchups. We'll get a good idea whether Boston or Milwaukee wants the two-seed when they send out their starting lineups Thursday night. Theis grabbed his head in disbelief and Antetokounmpo was fouled the other way, making one of two free throws for a 125-121 lead with 39 seconds left. No. Especially Brook and Jrue, get in the paint, finish in the paint, get some offensive rebounds, throw over the top to the post up, I was able to get some easy ones in the paint but at the end of the day our main focus is not to get to the paint its to make good decisions, play good basketball, find one another, Antetokounmpo said. So, in summation, Boston is in line for the No. "We want to compete. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, Kia MVP Ladder Matchup: Giannis bests Embiid, NBA set to celebrate Noches neBA program, NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays and strategy for Feb. 28, Durant expected to make Suns debut tonight, NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Feb. 28, Scoot Henderson says hes ready for NBA Draft, Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, Celtics host the Heat (7:30 p.m. Their two-way ceiling is probably higher than any other outfit in the league. PLAYOFF PICTURE WATCH One seed all but off the table for Celtics now. The Hawks are also just one game back of the Cavs, and if Atlanta wins its final two (at Miami and at Houston), it would force Cleveland -- in addition to beating Brooklyn -- to also win its final game of the season (vs. Milwaukee) because the Hawks own the tiebreaker via a 3-1 head-to-head advantage. That got the lead back to double digits, 98-87, with about five minutes left and the Bucks never got closer. A little heavy, coach Ime Udoka called it. The Celtics MVP candidate was tossed amidst his third rough shooting night in a row. A win at home over Boston tonight would see the two teams level on overall record, but there are a plethora of tiebreaker scenarios up in the air before the season comes to an end. Tatum hit a fadeaway shot. There are teams trying to get into the Play-In Tournament (7-10 seeds in each conference), there are teams trying to rise out of the Play-In and secure a guaranteed playoff spot (1-6 seeds in each conference), then there are the battles for playoff position, home-court advantage and securing tiebreakers that may be necessary come April 10. We'll see if they really want it (and if the Bucks want it, for that matter) when the two teams take the floor in Milwaukee on Thursday night. 4 if the Sixers win out. 2 seed is to win their final two (vs. Indiana and vs. Detroit) and have the Bucks lose their final two. The problem is experience. The Raptors lead the Bulls by two games with two to play, but with Chicago owning the tiebreaker, it makes it mathematically possible for the Bulls still secure the No. But with Kevin Durant healthy and Kyrie Irving just cleared to play in home games, they are not a typical first round matchup for one of the top teams in the conference. A Celtics win would push Milwaukee (.627) to first place, Boston would take over second thanks to owning the tiebreaker over Miami as the two teams would have matching 48-29 records (.623), while Philadelphia (.613) would remain in fourth place. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 3 in the standings -- or No. It was very frustrating, he said. The Milwaukee Bucks woke up Wednesday in a three-way tie for second in the Eastern Conference standings, knotted at 49-30 with Boston and Philadelphia. The Milwaukee Bucks are one win away from a berth in the Eastern Conference finals after pulling off a fourth-quarter comeback against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series on Wednesday night. The Phoenix and Boston stars take home the honors for Week 23. The Cavs havent played in big games together yet, and I think that will be an issue compared to the rest of the conferences contenders. Williams missed his 3rd consecutive game with an injured left knee as Boston kept its season alive Friday night in Milwaukee. His health is tantamount to the Clips chances, and recently Leonard has seemed comfortable with an increased workload. And it messed with their play. 2 seed with their win over Boston on Thursday night, and now lead the No. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. The James Harden-Joel Embiid pick and roll remains one of the most lethal actions in the game. Here's a look at the updated East standings as of Wednesday morning: In an ideal world, Boston should want to face a team like Chicago or Cleveland instead of the streaking Raptors or Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the dangerous Nets. First to the Floor: are the Knicks a bad matchup? Already without starting center Robert Williams III (knee), the Celtics simply had no answer for Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez inside. 9:39 pm ET, at By the way, it seems only fair to note here that Budenholzer didnt help his club when he called his predictable, notorious UIOLI (use it or lose it) timeout with 3:02 left. 2. In the West, it's between Utah and Denver. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The Milwaukee Bucks (22-10) and Boston Celtics (23-10) meet Sunday at TD Garden.Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Celtics 18-point lead had shrunk to six when Tatum subbed in with 9:37 left. That was in the back of our minds, Game 5, Tatum said after scoring 46 points with nine rebounds and four assists. And the depth next to Giannis is now the best its ever been. The 35-year-old guard returned to action March 14, and Hill spoke about the injury for the first time at shootaround Thursday morning. It was widely viewed that Milwaukee was avoiding a #2 vs. #7 matchup with the Brooklyn Nets who Boston would later sweep anyway. We felt they beat us on winning plays, hustle plays, 50/50 balls. Tatum had taken some heat in the wake of the Game 5 collapse for going a little Teflon in his demeanor, pre-empting anyone who wants to see him or the other Boston players hanging their heads, kicking tables or other histrionics. The Sixers have to finish a game ahead of the Bucks because Milwaukee owns the tiebreaker via its 2-1 head-to-head advantage over the Sixers. 9, which would happen if it loses and Atlanta wins out, it would mean a potential matchup with the No. 9:23 pm ET, at BOSTON (CBS) -- Wednesday night's win over the Chicago Bulls gave the Celtics the inside track to secure the two-seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics made 20 shots from deep, the Bucks just three. A daily roundup of Boston Celtics news from Celtics Blog, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Jayson Tatum ejected in ugly Celtics loss to Knicks: I just told him this was probably the best officiated game Ive been a part of. The NBA let me know it is all teams in the playoffs or play-in. A team that finishes the regular season in either ninth or 10th place can do no better than the No. The Bucks had a 13-point lead at one point and then trailed most of the fourth quarter, and a dramatic final few minutes were set up by the fact the Celtics ran out of the gates in the fourth quarter with seven straight points to take a 104-102 lead with 10:24 left in the game. 9 Charlotte (Hornets hold tiebreaker) and a 1.5 game lead on No. 2 seed. The other two: Shaquille ONeal and Wilt Chamberlain. Marcus Smart was named Defensive Player of the Year this season, becoming the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in 1996. The Sixers have three games against teams over .500 (Charlotte, Cleveland and Toronto) and four games against teams not only under .500 but all under .400 as they face Detroit and Indiana twice. They were tougher than us in that fourth quarter, Game 5. Muscala has been better than expected early in his Boston tenure. But a series against Kevin Durant and sidekick Kyrie Irving still isn't the most appealing first-round matchup for any team, because Kevin Durant is pretty damn good. 1 seed There simply isn't a team lurking in the play-in spots that seems as prickly as the Nets did a year ago. That is set ) a good idea whether Boston or Milwaukee wants the two-seed when send... (.617 ) trails both Miami (.652 ) and a 1.5 lead. That could change how this tiebreaker would pan out how this tiebreaker would pan out to Giannis is the... In that fourth quarter, game 5 shootaround Thursday morning and the third and final meeting between these is... 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