There are three teams on the outside of the NBA playoff brackets who still have real shots at getting in. All three lost on Saturday. Welp.
NBA Playoff Picture: A Bad Night For The Desperate
In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks couldn't rise to the challenge of facing a smokin' hot Indiana Pacers club; the Bucks fell 105-99, dropping to 29-31, 2.5 games behind New York and Philadelphia. The Knicks and Sixers have a tiebreaker, too, so each of those teams now has a magic number of four. Indiana is locked in to the No. 3 seed, so its win had little bracket impact. Man, the Pacers can be so selfish.
The other East game with playoff implications saw the Boston Celtics handle the Nets; Boston pulled to within a half-game of the Atlanta Hawks. Those two teams will likely meet in the first round, with the team owning the better record earning home-court advantage.
Out in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs both triumphed. That allow the Thunder to maintain a one-game lead for the No. 1 seed. Note that the teams are even in the loss column, and the Thunder have played two more games than the Spurs, so the margin can be bridged without OKC losing.
The L.A. Clippers also won to pull within one game of the Lakers for the No. 3 seed and maintain their 1.5-game lead over the victorious Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis beat the Utah Jazz, one of those outsiders hoping to get back into the bracket. That dropped Utah to two games behind Houston and Denver in the West. The Spurs' win came over the Phoenix Suns, who now sit 1.5 games behind Houston and Denver.
Here’s what the brackets look like after Saturday’s action:
EAST
* Hawks currently in position to have home-court advantage against Celtics.
WEST
Thunder (1) vs. Nuggets (8)
Spurs (2) vs. Rockets (7)
Lakers (3) vs. Mavericks (6)
Clippers (4) vs. Grizzlies (5)
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