Heat to face Bobcats while Dallas secure first round match-up with San Antonio.
There were 15 games on the NBA schedule on Wednesday night, as the regular season concluded to answer the final few questions regarding seeding.
With so much left to be determined in the Eastern Conference, both the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls lost as they remained in third and fourth spot respectively.
Combined with Brooklyn’s loss and Washington’s win, the pair swapped places in the standings which ultimately resulted in the Bulls facing the Wizards, while the Nets will take on the Raptors in the first round.
Chicago center Joakim Noah had 14 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, with rival Al Jefferson looking forward to his team testing themselves against the Miami Heat in the opening round.
While the Bobcats have gone 0-15 since LeBron James signed for Miami, Jefferson believes that they are capable of proving the doubters wrong again having surprised many by even making the playoffs.
Nevertheless, it it debatable as to whether or not both the Bulls and Nets prefer the final standings, as having put each other through a gruelling first round series last year, they will be hopeful of making a run given their next opponents.
Over in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured the second seed and will face the Memphis Grizzlies after their win over the Dallas Mavericks.
That in turn results in the Mavs facing the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the playoffs, while the Los Angeles Clippers will take on the Golden State Warriors.
It’s Houston against Portland in the remaining encounter, and at this stage it is difficult to predict who will advance in a very competitive conference.
With the regular season finally concluded, the level of competition is set to soar in the coming months as all 16 teams eye an NBA championship at the end of another long road.
NBA Results:
Chicago Bulls 86-91 Charlotte Bobcats
Indiana Pacers 101-86 Orlando Magic
Dallas Mavericks 105-106 Memphis Grizzlies
Atlanta Hawks 111-103 Milwaukee Bucks
Utah Jazz 136-130 Minnesota Timberwolves
Houston Rockets 100-105 New Orleans Pelicans
Detroit Pistons 111-112 Oklahoma City Thunder
Los Angeles Lakers 113-100 San Antonio Spurs
Washington Wizards 118-102 Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets 85-114 Cleveland Cavaliers
Philadelphia 76ers 100-87 Miami Heat
Toronto Raptors 92-95 New York Knicks
Los Angeles Clippers 104-110 Portland Trail Blazers
Phoenix Suns 104-99 Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors 116-112 Denver Nuggets
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