Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Toronto Raptors rolled past the Brooklyn Nets 136-101 and landed the Eastern Conference fifth seed on Sunday as the final pieces of the NBA post-season puzzle fell into place on the last day of the regular season. RJ Barrett scored 26 points, Brandon Ingram added 25, and Scottie Barnes delivered a triple-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists to help the 2019 champion Raptors return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
“That was our aspiration for the year,” Barnes said. “It’s a big relief.” The Raptors came into Sunday at sixth in the East and rose to fifth with the victory along with defeats for the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks. Toronto will open the playoffs against fourth-seeded Cleveland, who beat the Washington Wizards 130-117.
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The Miami Heat warmed up for the play-in tournament with a 143-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 26 points off the bench, and Bam Adebayo scored 25 points with 10 rebounds for the Heat, who finished 10th in the East and will face the Charlotte Hornets, who secured the ninth seed with a 110-96 victory over the third-seeded New York Knicks. The Hawks slipped from fifth to sixth, still avoiding the play-in that will see the seventh- through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference.
With the playoffs beckoning, Hawks coach Quinn Snyder rested a host of players, including Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, and Jalen Johnson, and the Raptors edged in front of them on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Every team was in action and 10 seedings were still in play on Sunday, but coaches still opted to rest dozens of players in preparation for the post-season.
Second-seeded Boston held out eight regulars, including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Baylor Scheirman scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Celtics to a 113-108 victory over Orlando that saw the Magic finish with the eighth seed in the East to book a road play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-106.
Eastern conference top seeds Detroit polished off the regular season with a 133-121 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Paul Reed scored 26 points and Tobias Harris added 24 for the Pistons, who put up 81 points in the first half. Detroit notched their third straight win and totaled 60 for the season for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.
In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets vied to cement the third seed when they took on the San Antonio Spurs. The Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to seize the third seed with a victory over the Utah Jazz and a Nuggets defeat.
© 2024 AFP
