Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) steals the ball from Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Atlanta.
AP Photo | Mike Stewart
After 1,230 games, here’s where things stand: 12 teams are in the playoffs, 10 teams are done and eight teams are about to fight for the final four postseason spots.
The NBA’s play-in tournament starts Tuesday with the Western Conference games. The eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers visit seventh-seeded New Orleans, and 10th-seeded Golden State plays an elimination game at ninth-seeded Sacramento.
The Lakers-Pelicans winner is the No. 7 seed and takes on Denver in Round 1; the Lakers-Pelicans loser will play host to the Warriors-Kings winner on Friday to decide who is the No. 8 seed and takes on Oklahoma City. The Warriors-Kings loser is eliminated.
The East play-in games are on Wednesday. Eighth-seeded Miami visits seventh-seeded Philadelphia, and 10th-seeded Atlanta plays at Chicago. The Heat-76ers winner will face No. 2 New York; the other play-in survivor from the East will meet No. 1 Boston.
NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE
Wednesday
7 p.m. Eastern — Miami at Philadelphia, ESPN
9:30 p.m. Eastern — Atlanta at Chicago, ESPN
Friday
Time TBD — East play-in game, ESPN
Time TBD — West play-in game, TNT
WHO’S IN/WHO’S OUT
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Boston vs. Friday East play-in game-winner, series starting Sunday
No. 2 New York vs. Miami or Philadelphia, series starting Saturday
No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 6 Indiana, series starting Sunday
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Orlando, series starting Saturday
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. Friday West play-in game-winner, series starting Sunday
No. 2 Denver vs. Los Angeles Lakers or New Orleans, series starting Saturday
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Phoenix, series starting Saturday
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas, series starting Sunday
Brooklyn, Toronto, Charlotte, Washington, Detroit, Houston, Utah, Memphis, Portland and San Antonio all saw their seasons end Sunday.
WHAT TO KNOW
— A look at the NBA, by the numbers this season.
— How the field was set on a wild Sunday in the NBA.
STAT OF THE DAY
The NBA season-high for points in a game by a team this season was 157. It happened twice — both times by Indiana, and in both cases, the opponent was Atlanta.
The Pacers finished the regular season with 10,110 points. That’s the fourth most in a regular season in NBA history. The others: Denver scored 10,371 in 1981-82, the Nuggets scored 10,147 in 1983-84 and Philadelphia scored 10,143 in 1966-67.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Indiana has had our number all year, right? So, perfect opponent. Listen, we’ve got to play somebody and they’re tough. They played great against us. They probably have great confidence against us.” — Bucks coach Doc Rivers, after learning his team will face Indiana in Round 1. The Pacers went 4-1 against the Bucks this season; the rare fifth game in the season series was part of the scheduling quirks created by the In-Season Tournament.
