The New York Knicks are under no illusions as to the importance of securing home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs, with Friday's win over the Brooklyn Nets keeping them in the hunt for the second seed.
The Knicks drew level with the Milwaukee Bucks at 49-32 with their 111-107 win at Madison Square Garden, boosting their chances of playing at the iconic venue through the postseason.
Jalen Brunson put up 30 points and added 11 assists as the Knicks made it four straight victories, with Josh Hart adding 16 and Mitchell Robinson tacking on 15.
The result saw New York secure a top-four seed, with the Bucks' subsequent 125-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder keeping their chances of finishing second in the East alive.
With the Bucks possessing the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Knicks must beat the Chicago Bulls in their season finale on Sunday and hope Milwaukee lose on the road against the Orlando Magic. If both teams lose, the Cleveland Cavaliers could yet usurp them.
Asked about the importance of playing at home, Hart said: "I heard the lights are really bright at MSG during that time, so it's really big for us."
Coach Tom Thibodeau, though, said the team cannot control anything other than their own results, saying: "We want to go through the finish line so that's the way we're looking at it. We want to improve and play our best."
With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined by a left calf injury and Damian Lillard missing out due to pain in his left adductor, the short-handed Bucks let the Knicks into the race with their loss at Paycom Center.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and Chet Holmgren added 22 as the Thunder eased to victory, establishing a 17-point halftime lead which they never looked likely to surrender.
Asked about Milwaukee's failure to wrap up second place, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said: "I don't have much of a reaction. We've got to run to the finish line.
"The good news is, no matter what, we'll be at home for game one. That we do know."
That result was also an important one in the race to top the Western Conference, with the Thunder now locked in a three-way tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.
It's in Oklahoma City's hands going into their season finale against the Dallas Mavericks, with Mark Daigneault's team edging the three-way tiebreaker.
"I think the big exponential jumps come from small incremental steps," Daigneault said after Friday's game. "I talk all the time about stacking and we really are trying to live that out.
"We just try to have a good day in the day that's in front of us, have a good possession in the possession that's in front of us, a good game in the game that's in front of us and just be very present in the process of improving and competing."
LeBron James undecided on NBA future after Lakers elimination
LeBron James says he "does not have an answer" on his NBA future after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in their first-round playoff series.
The Nuggets emerged triumphant with a 4-1 series win after beating the Lakers 108-106 in an entertaining Game 5 on Monday.
Despite playing through a calf strain, Jamal Murray hit a pull-up 14-footer with 3.6 seconds remaining of a game which saw the two teams repeatedly trade leads.
LeBron hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 26 seconds left to give the Lakers hope, but Murray drove to his left and pulled up for the go-ahead jumper over Austin Reaves.
After the painful narrow loss, LeBron was asked how he would approach any decision about Year 22 in the NBA.
"I do not have an answer to be honest, I have not given it much thought," he said, per ESPN.
"We will cross that when we need to. [I will evaluate] what's best for my career."
Asked if the Nuggets game was likely to be his last in a Lakers jersey, the 39-year-old replied: "I'm not going to answer that."
This was the earliest playoff exit in James' 17 postseason trips. The only other time he was eliminated in the first round was 2021, in a six-game loss to the Phoenix Suns.
"Tip your hat to them," James said about Denver. "Defending champions, they are a great team. Super-well coached and made the plays down the stretch to win the series.
"You give credit where credit is due, that is for sure."
Much like last year, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Denver’s late-game execution proved to be the difference.
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
LeBron has the option to enter the final year of his contract with the Lakers or he could become a free agent.
Also facing an uncertain future after the first-round exit is head coach Darvin Ham, who has been with the team for two years.
Ham, who is now on the hot seat, hopes the defeat will make him a better coach in the long run.
"My mind's all over the place right now," he said. "It's been a hell of a two years, though, I'll tell you that. Sitting in this seat, it's been a hell of a two years.
"A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize. I know what that feels like. I had that feeling a couple of times.
"So, you want to do everything in your power to prevent and not continue to feel this feeling we're feeling now, the feeling of defeat. So again, control what I can control, continue to grow and hopefully be a better coach for it.
"I couldn’t be more proud of our crew despite everything that happened.
"Obviously, the series didn’t go in our favor, it didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but to win that one at home, fight tooth and nail to get this one, our guys showed a lot of guts and a lot of character."
NBA: Jamal Murray hits another game-winner as Nuggets eliminate Lakers
Despite playing through a calf strain, Jamal Murray hit a pull-up 14-footer with 3.6 seconds remaining, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 on Monday for a 4-1 series win.
Murray, who also hit a buzzer-beater to win Game 2, was a game-time decision due to his calf injury but scored 12 of his 32 points in a fourth quarter in which the teams repeatedly traded leads.
LeBron James hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 26 seconds left to give the Lakers hope, but Murray drove to his left with help from a high ball screen and pulled up for the go-ahead jumper over Austin Reaves.
Without any timeouts to advance the ball, the Lakers managed only a desperation heave from Taurean Prince at the buzzer which never had a chance.
Much like last year, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Denver’s late-game execution proved to be the difference.
Nikola Jokić finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
The Nuggets will continue their championship defence with a second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced Sunday by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver eliminated Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a five-game series win.
Thunder complete sweep of Pelicans
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams each scored 24 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 97-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans and secure a four-game series sweep.
The youngest team ever to secure a conference’s No. 1 seed, the Thunder answered questions about play-off inexperience by easily securing their place in the second round, outscoring New Orleans by an average of 15.8 points per game.
Oklahoma City trailed 71-70 to start the fourth quarter but held the Pelicans to 18 points in the final frame.
Williams scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including his own 8-0 run that put the Thunder up 93-82 with 3:08 remaining.
The Pelicans played the series without Zion Williamson due to a hamstring strain, with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum failing to rise to the challenge.
Ingram shot under 35 percent from the field during the series and was 2 of 14 in Game 4. McCollum had 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting Monday but was just 7 of 29 from 3-point range in the series.
Celtics rout Heat for 3-1 series lead
Derrick White scored 38 points, and the Boston Celtics overcame an injury to Kristaps Porzingis to beat the Miami Heat 102-88 for a 3-1 series lead.
Porzingis exited with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter with right calf tightness and did not return. Al Horford started the second half in Porzingis’ place.
White, who is better known for his defensive contributions, went 8 of 15 from 3-point range en route to his 38 points, a career high for both the regular season and post-season.
Bam Adebayo led the way for the Heat with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.
'I'll look back when I retire' – Brunson will not rest on his laurels after 47-point Game 4 haul
Jalen Brunson will not spend too long thinking about his 47-point haul in Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers as he looks towards the second round of the playoffs.
The New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series thanks to a 97-92 victory on Sunday.
Brunson inspired the Knicks with a stunning 47-point performance, while he also chipped in with 10 assists.
But with the Knicks just one win away from progressing, Brunson is not resting on his laurels.
"I'll look back when I retire," Brunson said.
"Seriously. It's great right now, it helped us get a win.
"But it's not going to do anything for us going forward."
Brunson's haul was a franchise record, as he surpassed Bernard King (46) for the most points scored in a playoff game for the Knicks.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said: "I think we learned that throughout the course of the season. Jalen has played at such an incredibly high level all season long, and we can play off that.
"We have a little bit of everything. And the rebounding has been terrific. Everyone questioned the rebounding with Josh [Hart] at the power forward. We've been the best rebounding team all year. Everyone questioned Jalen being a leader.
"We have a lot to prove. It takes four to win a series, that's what we have to focus on."
The Sixers are staring down the barrel of an early exit, but Joel Embiid, who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, does not believe the pressure is on Philadelphia.
"One at a time," said Embiid. "We know we're good enough. We didn't make shots, so we just got to keep trusting ourselves.
"We got no pressure. We're the seven seed, down 3-1, a lot of guys are hurt.
"I don't know why we would feel the pressure. So we should just go out there and go out and play our best basketball and one at a time, win one, come back home, win another one and then Game 7 over there. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Yeah. No pressure."
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