Magic end Hornets playoffs hopes and seal seventh seed; Pistons thump Knicks to claim eighth and final playoff place
Thursday 11 April 2019 07:31, UK
The Brooklyn Nets clinched sixth place in the Eastern Conference by handing the Miami Heat a 113-94 loss in the final game of Dwyane Wade's storied career.
The Brooklyn Nets clinched sixth place in the Eastern Conference by handing the Miami Heat a 113-94 loss in the final game of Dwyane Wade's storied career.
Wade signed off with a triple-double of 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and was honoured by the Nets with a video tribute in pregame introductions highlighting some of his notable shots against them over the course of a 16-year career.
With longtime friends LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside, Wade recorded his fifth career triple-double in his 1,054th regular-season game since entering the league as the fifth overall pick out of Marquette in 2003.
Wade played 36 minutes and received a loud hand from fans each time he touched the ball. He made 10 of 28 shots, and his last points were a three-pointer with 2:48 remaining.
Brooklyn (42-40) secured the sixth seed and will open their first postseason series since 2014-15 this weekend in Philadelphia. The Nets also clinched their first winning season since 2013-14 by going 34-22 over their last 56 games since December 7.
D'Angelo Russell, who ended his rookie season by appearing in Kobe Bryant's last game in 2016 with the Los Angeles Lakers, led the Nets with 21 points.
After Brooklyn took a 63-47 lead into halftime, Russell hit three three-pointers in a span of 46 seconds as the Nets extended their lead to 75-50 less than two minutes into the third quarter. Brooklyn brought a 92-71 edge into the fourth.
Miami opened the fourth on a 13-5 run and was within 97-84 when Wade re-entered the game with 7:20 left.
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Terrence Ross came off the bench to score a season-high 35 points as the playoff-bound Orlando Magic ended the Charlotte Hornets' season with a 122-114 victory.
Ross scored 19 of his points in the first half, when the Magic led by as many as 13, and then took over again down the stretch when the Magic led by as many as 14. He finished 12-of-19 from the field and 6-of-10 from three-point range.
Ross' performance overshadowed a 43-point explosion by Charlotte's Kemba Walker in the defeat.
The Magic (42-40) remained the No 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with the victory, and will face second-seeded Toronto in the first round of the playoffs.
The Hornets (39-43) were hoping to claim the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, needing a win plus a loss by Detroit at New York. But it became clear early on that the Pistons would rout the Knicks, leaving Charlotte on the outside of the playoff places.
The Magic also received 27 points from Aaron Gordon, 18 from DJ Augustin and 14 from Evan Fournier.
Walker was 16-of-25 from the field, on a night when the Hornets shot 52.6 per cent from the field. The Hornets also got 22 points from Jeremy Lamb, 18 from Miles Bridges and 12 from Dwayne Bacon.
Luke Kennard scored 27 points off the bench and the postseason-bound Detroit Pistons closed out their regular season finale by walloping the host New York Knicks 115-89.
The Pistons (41-41) qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs for just the second time since the 2008-09 season. They were swept by Cleveland in the opening round of the 2015-16 playoffs.
Detroit will be the No 8 seed and face top-seeded Milwaukee in the first round.
Kennard's point total was one shy of his career high. Reggie Jackson had 21 points and Andre Drummond supplied 20 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit. Wayne Ellington tossed in 12 points, all on three-point makes.
The Pistons swept the season series from the Knicks (17-65), who finished with the NBA's worst record.
John Jenkins led the Knicks with 16 points off the bench. Kadeem Allen had 13 points and eight assists, and former Piston Henry Ellenson added 12 points.
The Pistons played without All-Star Blake Griffin, who was sidelined by a sore left knee. The Knicks sat out a host of players, including guard Dennis Smith Jr, who scored 25 points in a 10-point victory over Chicago on Tuesday.
Edmond Sumner made three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining to lift the Indiana Pacers to a 135-134 road win over the Atlanta Hawks in the final regular-season game for both teams.
Atlanta finished the season with a 29-53 record while Indiana (48-34) head into the playoffs having won only four of their last 13 games. The fifth-place Pacers will oppose the fourth-place Boston Celtics (49-33) in the first round of the Eastern Conference postseason.
It looked as if the Hawks had earned the win when Taurean Prince's three-point jumper with 2.1 seconds left gave the hosts a 134-132 lead.
However, Sumner was fouled by DeAndre' Bembry and coolly sank all three attempts to give the Pacers some much-needed momentum heading into the postseason.
With nothing on the line, Indiana coach Nate McMillan employed a makeshift lineup, resting a handful of regulars to get ready for the Boston series that will begin this weekend.
TJ Leaf led the Pacers with his first career double-double, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Tyreke Evans added 27 points and five assists. Sumner finished with 22 points off the bench.
All five Hawks starters scored in double figures. Prince and Trae Young led the way with 23 points each. John Collins and Alex Len finished with 20 points. Kevin Huerter chipped in with 17 points, and Bembry came off the bench to provide 11 points.
The Hawks came back to take a short-lived lead at 61-60 on Len's dunk. Atlanta led again at 63-62 following a Collins alley-oop dunk. The Pacers then took the lead until late in the fourth quarter when the teams traded the lead seven times until Sumner's heroics.
Jonathon Simmons scored 20 points and Boban Marjanovic added 18 to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
TJ McConnell tied his career-high with 18, Zhaire Smith contributed 17 and Greg Monroe had 14 for the Sixers, who completed their regular season with a 51-31 record and the No 3 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers finished 31-10 at home.
The Sixers were quite short-handed as numerous key players were held out for precautionary reasons as the playoffs are about to begin. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris were all held out.
Walter Lemon Jr paced the Bulls with 20 points while Ryan Arcidiacono and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 14 each. The Bulls ended the regular season at 22-60.
Early in the third, the Sixers ripped off a 10-0 run and the Sixers pulled ahead 77-48 following McConnell's runner in the lane.
The Bulls continued to struggle mightily on the offensive end and trailed 85-54 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.
Lemon hit a driving layup with 4.2 seconds left but the Bulls still trailed 97-64 at the end of the third. Both teams had deep reserves in the game throughout the fourth as the Sixers led handily.
