Indiana and Chicago captured the last two tickets for the playoffs, while for the first time in nine years Boston ended on the throne of the Eastern Conference, ahead of Cleveland.
Paul George (32 points and 11 rebounds) allowed the Indiana Pacers to crush 104-86 Atlanta, who was already guaranteed to finish fifth in the East. Jeff Teague added 19 points and seven assists before crawling his left ankle and leaving the court in the last quarter. In the first round of playoffs, they will rub in Cleveland, who after their 98-83 defeat against Toronto.
“I can not wait,” Paul George said to the media. “When you’re back on the wall, you get there. This shows the character of this team. We know from the start that we have to playoffs, we just had to understand how to play the right away.” he added.
The last ticket to the East went to Chicago, winner of Brooklyn 112-73 thanks to the 25 point of Jimmy Butler and the 21points of the rookie Paul Zipser. The Bull finished the season with an impressive record of 25 wins and 16 losses at home, but they are far less effective outside, where exactly the opposite.
But this does not worry to veteran Dwyane Wade, who is satisfied with the qualification. “As a player for fourteen years, I think I went 12 times in playoffs,” Wade said. “That’s why we play. That’s what I like. We always want to play our best basketball in moments when it counts.” he added.
On the other hand, Miami will not play the playoffs. Dragic’s 28 points did not allow the Heat to reach the playoffs despite a 110-102 victory over Washington. Miami finished the season with one of the league’s best records over the last three months with 30 wins and 11 losses but pay off their catastrophic start to the season.
Chicago Bulls player Dwayne Wade already played 12 times in the playoffs. (Source:www.thesportsbank.com)
At the head of the conference, Boston took their place on the throne of the Eastern Conference thanks to their success at Milwaukee.
Boston finished the season with a record of 53 wins for 29 defeats and will have the advantage of the field during the first three rounds of the playoffs. The last time the Celtic finished the lead, they had won their 17th and last NBA title in 2008.
