The final day of group play in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament brought the scoreboard watching and tiebreaker drama the league was hoping for so many months ago.
It worked out to an East quarterfinals in which the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks will host the wild card New York Knicks, while the Indiana Pacers will face the Boston Celtics. In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns both advanced out of Group A, while the New Orleans Pelicans took Group B.
The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are currently playing to decide Group C in the West.
The Celtics entered Tuesday with a simple directive: beat the Chicago Bulls as hard as humanly possible. With a point differential of zero and a three-way tie with the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets likely, Boston needed a blowout of the Bulls to top the idle Magic’s +22 margin.
The game started fairly even, then the Celtics continued to build a huge lead. They were up by 11 by the end of the first quarter, up by 19 at halftime, then broke through with a big third quarter for a 124-97 win. That 27-point differential singlehandedly lifted the Celtics past Orlando.
Meanwhile, the Nets beat the Toronto Raptors, but by little enough that they finished behind the Magic.
The Bucks took care of business against a Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat to improve their record to 4-0 and take East Group B, though the Heat made things difficult at times. Miami led by three points midway through the fourth quarter, but a quick 7-0 run gave Milwaukee the distance it needed.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard had one of their best games yet together, combining for 65 points and 14 assists. It was Khris Middleton, however, who had the biggest basket:
The Knicks were watching that Bucks-Heat game with great interest, as a Heat win would have handed them a group win. The Knicks improved their point differential to +42 with a blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets, but they ended up having to settle for the East wild-card.
The Pelicans clinched West Group B thanks to a loss by the Houston Rockets, who needed a 17-point win over the Dallas Mavericks to advance.
The Pacers and Lakers were the first teams to clinch knockout spots, with both teams having finished up 4-0 records on Friday. The Pacers rode NBA in-season tourney MVP favorite Tyrese Haliburton to dramatic wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers in East Group A, while the Lakers coasted in an unusually weak West Group A, which featured three of the bottom four teams in the Western Conference.
That group also benefited the Suns, who clinched the West wild card Tuesday via a +34 point differential.
Teams that advance will play in the quarterfinals on Dec. 4 and 5, with games hosted by the higher seeds, with the semifinals and finals scheduled for Dec. 7 and 9 in Las Vegas. All games save for the final will count toward regular season records.
Friday’s NBA in-season tournament scores
Boston Celtics 124, Chicago Bulls 97
Cleveland Cavaliers 128, Atlanta Hawks 105
Brooklyn Nets 115, Toronto Raptors 103
New York Knicks 115, Charlotte Hornets 91
Milwaukee Bucks 131, Miami Heat 124
Minnesota Timberwolves, 106, Oklahoma City Thunder 103
Dallas Mavericks 119, Houston Rockets 115
NBA in-season tournament standings
All games, save for the championship game, will count toward regular-season records. Tiebreakers are, in order: head-to-head record, point differential, total points scored, 2022-23 regular-season record and a random drawing.
East Group A
1. Indiana Pacers: 4-0, +39 (won group)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers: 3-1, +29 (eliminated)
3. Philadelphia 76ers: 2-2, +9 (eliminated)
4. Atlanta Hawks: 1-3, -32 (eliminated)
5. Detroit Pistons: 0-4, -45 (eliminated)
East Group B
1. Milwaukee Bucks: 4-0, +46 (won group)
2. New York Knicks: 3-1, +42 (wild card)
3. Miami Heat: 2-2, +4 (eliminated)
4. Charlotte Hornets: 1-3, -54 (eliminated)
5. Washington Wizards: 0-4, -38 (eliminated)
East Group C
1. Boston Celtics: 3-1, +27 (won group)
2. Orlando Magic: 3-1, +22 (eliminated)
3. Brooklyn Nets: 3-1, +20 (eliminated)
4. Toronto Raptors: 1-3, -21 (eliminated)
5. Chicago Bulls: 0-4, -48 (eliminated)
West Group A
1. Los Angeles Lakers: 4-0, +74 (won group)
2. Phoenix Suns: 3-1, +34 (wild card)
3. Utah Jazz: 2-2, -13 (eliminated)
4. Portland Trail Blazers: 1-3, -39 (eliminated)
5. Memphis Grizzlies: 0-4, -56 (eliminated)
West Group B
1. New Orleans Pelicans: 3-1, +33 (won group)
2. Houston Rockets: 2-2, +12 (eliminated)
3. Denver Nuggets: 2-2, -10 (eliminated)
4. Dallas Mavericks: 2-2, -14 (eliminated)
5. Los Angeles Clippers: 1-3, -25 (eliminated)
West Group C
1. Sacramento Kings: 3-0, +29
2. Golden State Warriors: 2-1, +5
3. Minnesota Timberwolves: 3-1, 0 (eliminated)
4. Oklahoma City Thunder: 1-3, +24 (eliminated)
5. San Antonio Spurs: 0-4, -58 (eliminated)
