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NBA playoff standings: Pacers spring by Knicks, Hawks flip with Bulls

The Indiana Pacers moved a half game in front of the idle Knicks with a win Saturday.

by Patrick Hayes
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Although the eight Eastern Conference teams likely to make the playoffs have been obvious for some time, the order of those teams behind the Miami Heat is still very much up in the air.

With wins Saturday, the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks both moved up a spot in the standings. The Pacers moved a half game in front of the idle New York Knicks for second place in the East.

With a win and a loss by the Chicago Bulls, the Hawks moved a half game in front of the Bulls for fifth place in the East. Atlanta trails Brooklyn by 1.5 games for fourth place and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Here are the complete standings:

ASTERN CONFERENCE W L PCT GB HOME ROAD CONF DIV STREAK L10
1 xyz-Miami 57 15 0.792 - 32-3 25-12 33-10 12-1 W1 9-1
2 x-Indiana 47 27 0.635 11 29-8 18-19 30-16 12-3 W4 7-3
3 x-New York 45 26 0.634 11½ 26-10 19-16 29-13 9-6 W7 7-3
4 x-Brooklyn 42 31 0.575 15½ 22-14 20-17 29-14 9-4 L2 5-5
5 x-Atlanta 41 33 0.554 17 23-13 18-20 26-19 11-5 W1 6-4
6 x-Chicago 39 32 0.549 17½ 20-16 19-16 28-13 8-6 L1 5-5
7 Boston 38 34 0.528 19 25-11 13-23 24-19 7-6 W2 4-6
8 Milwaukee 35 37 0.486 22 19-18 16-19 22-23 7-9 L1 3-7
Philadelphia 30 43 0.411 27½ 22-17 8-26 18-25 7-8 W3 6-4
Toronto 27 45 0.375 30 17-19 10-26 16-27 3-11 W1 3-7
Washington 26 46 0.361 31 19-17 7-29 12-30 5-10 L2 6-4
Detroit 24 49 0.329 33½ 15-23 9-26 20-24 6-7 L2 1-9
Cleveland 22 49 0.310 34½ 13-23 9-26 16-26 3-11 L7 1-9
Orlando 19 55 0.257 39 11-27 8-28 9-37 3-12 L1 1-9
Charlotte 17 56 0.233 40½ 11-25 6-31 14-30 6-9 L2 4-6

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