We may have seen the Atlantic Division settled on Sunday, and the team that led it practically all season may be on its way out of the playoff bracket. We’ll look at that and more below the jump in Monday’s NBA Playoff Picture.
NBA Playoff Picture: Celtics Polish Atlantic, Rockets Ride On
The biggest result from Sunday might have been Boston's easy win over Philadelphia, which gave the Celtics a three-game lead in the Atlantic and sent the 76ers to within one game of falling out of the East's top eight. The New York Knicks upset the Chicago Bulls to go even up with Philly, and the Milwaukee Bucks lurk. The Knicks and Sixers led Milwaukee by one game.
That Bulls loss served to allow the Miami Heat to inch within two games for the No. 1 seed with a win over Detroit. The Pacers, Magic and Hawks were all inactive.
Out West, the Thunder and Spurs each won to stay even in the race for No. 1. The Lakers, Clippers and Grizzlies all rested, but the Houston Rockets made headway with a breezy win in Kyle Lowry's return. Houston is now 1.5 games behind Memphis for No. 5, and a half-game up on idle Dallas. Denver and Phoenix rested, and the Jazz fell victim to the San Antonio Freight Train. Utah is now 1.5 games behind the Nuggets for No. 8, with the Suns blocking their path.
Here’s what the brackets look like on Monday.
Bulls (1) vs. Sixers (8)
Heat (2) vs. Knicks (7)
Pacers (3) vs. Magic (6)
Celtics (4) vs. Hawks (5)*
* Hawks would have home court advantage due to a better record.
Spurs (1) vs. Nuggets (8)
Thunder (2) vs. Mavericks (7)
Lakers (3) vs. Rockets (6)
Clippers (4) vs. Grizzlies (5)
Scott Schroeder will have your Enormous Consequences rundown at noon ET.
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