By beating the lowly Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday, the Boston Celtics (36-29) didn't just avenge two of their worst losses of the season. They also pulled into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks and stayed within striking distance of fourth place and homecourt advantage for their first round playoff series.
NBA playoff picture: Celtics re-enter tie for No. 5, Pacers give up ground for No. 2
The Celtics are closing in on a home playoff series in the first round while the Knicks are a half game from catching the Pacers.
Jared Wickerham
For more on the story, visit Celtics Blog or Indy Cornrows
The Celtics now trail the Brooklyn Nets (38-27) by two games for fourth place in the East standings. The Nets play the Hawks at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The Indiana Pacers (40-26) lost their second-straight game Saturday, tightening up their hold on second place in the East standings. The New York Knicks (38-25) trail Indiana by just a half game in the standings now. The Knicks travel to Los Angeles to play the Clippers at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. Here are the complete Eastern Conference standings:
| EASTERN CONFERENCE | W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | CONF | DIV | STREAK | L10 |
| 1 Miami | 50 | 14 | 0.781 | - | 30-3 | 20-11 | 27-9 | 10-1 | W21 | 10-0 |
| 2 Indiana | 40 | 26 | 0.606 | 11 | 26-8 | 14-18 | 26-15 | 10-2 | L2 | 5-5 |
| 3 New York | 38 | 25 | 0.603 | 11½ | 22-10 | 16-15 | 24-13 | 6-6 | L3 | 5-5 |
| 4 Brooklyn | 38 | 27 | 0.585 | 12½ | 22-13 | 16-14 | 28-13 | 9-4 | W1 | 5-5 |
| 5 Chicago | 36 | 29 | 0.554 | 14½ | 18-14 | 18-15 | 26-13 | 7-6 | W1 | 4-6 |
| 6 Boston | 36 | 29 | 0.554 | 14½ | 24-9 | 12-20 | 22-17 | 7-5 | W2 | 7-3 |
| 7 Atlanta | 36 | 29 | 0.554 | 14½ | 21-11 | 15-18 | 21-17 | 10-5 | W2 | 4-6 |
| 8 Milwaukee | 32 | 32 | 0.500 | 18 | 16-16 | 16-16 | 21-19 | 7-8 | L3 | 6-4 |
| Toronto | 26 | 40 | 0.394 | 25 | 17-16 | 9-24 | 15-22 | 3-9 | W1 | 3-7 |
| Philadelphia | 25 | 40 | 0.385 | 25½ | 19-17 | 6-23 | 15-25 | 7-8 | W1 | 3-7 |
| Washington | 23 | 42 | 0.354 | 27½ | 18-17 | 5-25 | 12-28 | 5-8 | W3 | 5-5 |
| Detroit | 23 | 45 | 0.338 | 29 | 15-20 | 8-25 | 19-21 | 6-7 | L8 | 1-9 |
| Cleveland | 22 | 44 | 0.333 | 29 | 13-19 | 9-25 | 16-22 | 3-10 | L2 | 4-6 |
| Orlando | 18 | 48 | 0.273 | 33 | 10-25 | 8-23 | 8-31 | 2-9 | L2 | 3-7 |
| Charlotte | 14 | 52 | 0.212 | 37 | 8-24 | 6-28 | 11-26 | 4-8 | L2 | 1-9 |
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