By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With the East conference already decided and only the final standings between the 5th and the 9th spot in the West on the line, the last day of the NBA regular season started in a festive and relaxed mood with most stars and starters rested to be concluded in a very tense way.
The Gobert incident stole the show in Minnesota which ultimately got the big 113-108 win over the Pelicans with Antony Edwards scoring 26 points and stealing the show. For the losing side, Brandon Ingram had 42 points and Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double (11 p. 18 r.) which was not enough, as the Pelicans finished ninth and will compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the play-ins.
The Timberwolves finished in the 8th spot and will face the 7th-seeded Lakers, who beat the Jazz 128-117 (Samanic 9 p., Fontecchio 20 p.). The Clippers kept the 5th spot by beating 119-114 (Zubac 10 p. 8 r.) the Suns, who rested their starters. The Warriors destroyed the Blazers 157-101, keeping the 6th spot.
After the end of the regular season, the playoffs and the play-ins are the following:
EAST
Milwaukee (1) – 8th seed
Boston (2) – 7th seed
Philadelphia (3) – Brooklyn (6)
Cleveland (4) – New York (5)
Play-in
7th seed: Miami (7) – Atlanta (8)
Toronto (9) – Chicago (10)
8th seed: Loser of Miami – Atlanta vs Winner of Toronto – Chicago
WEST
Denver (1) – 8th seed
Memphis (2) – 7th seed
Sacramento (3) – Golden State (6)
Phoenix (4) – LA Clippers (5)
Play-in
7th seed: LA Lakers (7) – Minnesota (8)
New Orleans (9) – Oklahoma City (10)
8th seed: Loser of Lakers – Minnesota vs Winner of New Orleans – Oklahoma City
The rest of the results and European scorers
Boston – Atlanta 120-114
Brooklyn – Philadelphia 105-134 (Korkmaz 11 p.)
Cleveland – Charlotte 95-106 (Osman 4 p. Rubio 6 p. – Maledon 18 p., Mykhailiuk 16 p.)
Miami – Orlando 123-110 (Yurtseven 14 p. – F.Wagner 10 p. Bitadze 4 p.)
New York – Indiana 136-141 (Hartenstein 8 p.)
Toronto – Milwaukee 121-105 (Poelt 6 p. – T.Antetokounmpo 14 p. Dragic 14 p.)
Washington – Houston 109-114 (Sengun 12 p. Marjanovic 10 p.)
Chicago – Detroit 103-81 (Vucevic 8 p. Simonovic 4 p. – Hayes 26 p.)
Dallas – San Antonio 117-138 (Bertans 19 p. Ntilikina 12 p. – Mamukelasvhili 23 p.)
Denver – Sacramento 109-95 (Cancar 11 p. – Sabonis 14 p.)
Oklahoma City – Memphis 115-100 (Sarr 22 p.)