NBA Playoff Picture: Nets, Hawks win as East race remains in question

Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets picked up a big on Wednesday to help solidify their status as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks pushed back to get even with the Chicago Bulls.

by Steve von Horn

Apr 11, 2013, 1:01 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson combined to score 70 points on Wednesday night as the Brooklyn Nets knocked off the Boston Celtics and moved three-and-a-half games ahead of the idle Bulls for the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. With only five games left on Chicago's schedule, Brooklyn is a pretty safe bet to capture home court in the first round.

More: NetsDaily Blog a Bull

In any case, the Bulls have bigger problems right now. Aside from the Derrick Rose saga, Josh Smith and the Atlanta Hawks earned a win over the hapless Sixers on Wednesday to pull within percentage points of Chicago for the No. 5 spot. The Bulls own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta, so all they need to do is keep pace at this point.

The race at the bottom of the bracket isn’t very interesting any more. The Celtics lost to the Nets, but the Bucks failed to gain any ground. Milwaukee lost to the Magic in overtime, so Boston still holds a three-game lead for the No. 7 seed.

		W	L	PCT	GB	STRK	L10
1	z - Miami	62	16	.795	-	Won 4	8-2
2	y - New York	51	26	.662	10 ½	Won 13	10-0
3	y - Indiana	49	29	.628	13	Won 1	7-3
4	x - Brooklyn	46	32	.590	16	Won 3	6-4
5	x - Chicago	42	35	.545	19 ½	Lost 2	6-4
6	x - Atlanta	43	36	.544	19 ½	Won 1	5-5
7	x - Boston	40	38	.513	22	Lost 1	4-6
8	x - Milwaukee	37	41	.474	25	Lost 2	3-7
	Philadelphia	31	47	.397	31	Lost 3	5-5
	Toronto	30	48	.385	32	Won 1	4-6
	Washington	29	50	.367	33 ½	Lost 3	4-6
	Detroit	27	52	.342	35 ½	Won 2	4-6
	Cleveland	24	54	.308	38	Lost 2	2-8
	Orlando	20	59	.253	42 ½	Won 1	2-8
	Charlotte	18	60	.231	44	Lost 3	2-8