A Trae Young masterclass in the second half of the Atlanta Hawks' play-in clash against the Cleveland Cavaliers led his side to a 107-101 victory.
After only scoring six points in the first half, Young had 32 in the second, finishing with 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting (four-of-11 from deep) to go with nine assists.
It was a gutsy comeback from the Hawks, who trailed 28-14 in the first quarter and 49-61 with 30 seconds to play in the first half.
Overall, the Hawks outscored the Cavaliers 56 to 40 in the last two quarters, and after committing seven turnovers in the opening frame, cleaned things up significantly and only committed six more across the next three quarters.
Cleveland's Darius Garland had a difficult shooting night, finishing nine-of-27 from the field for his 21 points, but he showed excellent command of his side throughout, dishing nine assists, snatching three steals and finishing with a plus/minus of plus three in his 43 minutes. This means in the five minutes Garland was sitting on the bench, the Cavs were outscored by eight.
With the win, the Hawks have earned a seven-game series against the top seed of the Eastern Conference – the Miami Heat.
Pelicans survive Clippers comeback
The New Orleans Pelicans survived a massive second-half surge from the Los Angeles Clippers to fight back and win on the road 105-101.
Through the first half, it looked like it would be smooth sailing for the Pelicans as they jumped out to a 56-42 lead with one minute to play in the second quarter.
Los Angeles were without star Paul George after it was announced he had tested positive for coronavirus and had to adhere to health and safety protocols, but they found a second wind to start the third period.
The Clippers started the second half on a 20-to-two run, flipping a 56-46 deficit to a 66-58 lead as Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris started to catch fire.
After being outscored 38-18 in the third term, the Pelicans began the final period trailing 84-74, but it would be their turn to make a run, rallying to tie the game at 88-88 with 7:35 to play.
Brandon Ingram was the star of the show, finishing with 30 points (14-of-21 shooting) with six assists and six rebounds, but the clutch long-range shooting from rookie Trey Murphy III was the catalyst for their surge down the stretch.
Murphy came off the bench and finished with a game-high plus/minus of plus 26 in his 24 minutes, hitting four-of-six threes, including three of them in the last 10 minutes.
Jackson and Morris finished with 27 points each for the Clippers, while the former also added eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
The win means the New Orleans Pelicans will face the Phoenix Suns in a best-of-seven series, beginning on Sunday.
The Dallas Mavericks will be without talisman Luka Doncic for Game 1 of their playoff series against the Utah Jazz and he is a major doubt for Game 2.
Doncic strained his left calf in the third quarter of the Mavs' final regular-season fixture, a 130-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs, and sat out the rest of the game after putting up 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
The two-time All-Star would have been ineligible for the game had the NBA not rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season, which he earned in the game prior against the Portland Trailblazers.
It was reported on Thursday that Doncic was set to miss Saturday's game against Utah and now ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has claimed the 23-year-old will definitely be out, adding that Dallas have serious concerns that he will also be missing for Game 2 on Monday.
Doncic has averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game this season. Across his career, he has averaged 30 points per game against the Jazz.
Paul George has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will not feature for the Los Angeles Clippers against the New Orleans Pelicans, according to reports.
George spent three months out earlier this season due to a serious elbow injury but returned at the end of March to help the Clippers push for a playoff berth.
They did not quite seal a guaranteed postseason spot but face the Pelicans on Friday in the Western Conference's play-in game.
The Clippers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game of the play-in tournament but get a second shot against the Pelicans. However, they will be without their talisman George.
George scored a game-high 34 points in the defeat to Minnesota yet will sit out as his teammates aim to secure a playoff game against the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news, with his colleague Ohm Youngmisuk stating that Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations for the Clippers, had told media that George had tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
George averaged 24.3 points per game for the Clippers across the regular season, more than any of his teammates.
After the loss to the Timberwolves, George told reporters: "It's win or go home.
"Obviously, [if] we don't win, we go home. I could care less who we play. The mindset is we have to win regardless. There's no pep talk, X's and O's. We've got to win. We've got to win if we want to continue our season."
George has carried a heavy burden this season in the absence of Kawhi Leonard who has not featured at all this season due to injury, though there is hope he may return for the playoffs should the Clippers progress.
Late in the NBA season it appeared the Phoenix Suns may finish top-two in both offensive and defensive efficiency – a feat only accomplished twice in the 21st century.
Those two teams were the 2014-15 and 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, who both went on to win NBA Championships.
As Phoenix wrapped up the top overall seed with weeks to spare, their total efficiency took a dip in the final games as Aaron Holiday was gifted starts, and the duo of Ishmail Wainwright and Gabriel Lundberg were playing nearly a combined 50 minutes.
For the season, the Suns finished with the third-ranked defense, giving up 106.8 points per 100 possessions, and the fifth-placed offense, scoring 114.2 points per 100 possessions, giving them a net-rating of 7.5 (7.4 gap between offense and defense, rounded up to the closest decimal).
The 'per 100 possessions' qualifier is simply to provide an even playing field for teams that play at different paces – the Dallas Mavericks are the slowest team in the league, getting 95.6 possessions per game, while the run-and-gun Minnesota Timberwolves average 101.5 possessions per game.
Since, and including, the 1999-00 season, the 2021-22 Suns are the 13th team to finish top-five in both offense and defense.
The other teams are:
1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers (fifth in offense, first in defense, 9.0 net-rating) 2001-02 Sacramento Kings (third in offense, fifth in defense, 8.1 net) 2005-06 Detroit Pistons (fourth in offense, fifth in defense, 7.6 net) 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks (second in offense, fifth in defense, 7.6 net) 2007-08 Lakers (third in offense, fifth in defense, 7.3 net) 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers (fourth offense, second defense, 9.6 net) 2009-10 Orlando Magic (fourth offense, fourth defense, 7.9 net) 2010-11 Miami Heat (second offense, fifth defense, 7.8 net) 2014-15 Warriors (second offense, first defense, 9.9 net) 2016-17 Warriors (first offense, second defense, 11.4 net) 2018-19 Milwaukee Bucks (first defense, fourth offense, 8.6 net)
Of those teams – all of which won at least 57 regular season games – half made it to the NBA Finals, while the 1999-2000 Lakers, 2014-15 Warriors and 2016-17 Warriors are the three to win championships. The reigning champion 2008-09 Celtics were the only side to not make it to the Conference Finals.
The 2005-06 Pistons were two seasons removed from their 2004 title; the 2006-07 Mavericks featured many of the pieces that would win the 2011 title; the 2007-08 Lakers stuck with it and won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010; the 2010-11 Heat won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013; and the 2018-19 Bucks just needed to add Jrue Holiday to push themselves over the line in 2021.
What this means is that while this specific Suns side may not be guaranteed to win this year's championship, they have a great chance to make the NBA Finals, and it shows that as an organisation, they have hit a sweet spot that very few sides ever reach, right in the heart of a true championship window.
However, none of those teams had their championship windows opened with the arrival of a 36-year-old. While the Suns are at a stage where they do not simply live and die with the health of Chris Paul, they are very clearly not the same team when he sits.
The Suns are 53-12 in the 65 games Paul has played this season, and are still an impressive 11-6 without him, showing that he has helped turn the franchise around in a real way.
Paul's biggest contribution to the Suns has been culturally, turning a perennial losing side into a team that expects to win every time it steps on the floor, no matter who is suiting up.
He has now been a member of the best regular season teams in the history of four franchises – the New Orleans Pelicans, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets and now the Suns.
However, it would be silly to discount the improvements Phoenix were making prior to Paul's arrival, including going 8-0 in 'the bubble' ahead of the 2020 Playoffs. Much of that credit also goes to head coach Monty Williams, who has the Suns playing a system that seems to work no matter who is on the floor, especially at the center position.
After being released by the Charlotte Hornets, Bismack Biyombo was picked up on a minimum contract and produced the most efficient scoring season of his career, registering 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds per-36 minutes.
Career backup JaVale McGee has also been terrific, scoring 20.9 points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds per-36 in his 14th season in the league.
For the season, McGee leads the Phoenix center trio in player efficiency rating (PER, where league-average is always 15) with 22.5, while Deandre Ayton is at 22.0 and Biyombo at 17.3.
The success of Phoenix's backup bigs has added fuel to the fire regarding the impending contract extension of Ayton, who the Suns made the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Ayton was eligible for a big-money extension this past off-season, but the organisation opted to wait until after this season when his contract expires, where they can decide if they feel he is worth the max-contract he is expected to demand, or if they are better served cashing on his perceived value through a trade.
Phoenix are paying Paul and Devin Booker max-contract money, and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Mikal Bridges signed a four-year, $90million extension in December, which was considered a bargain for a player of his two-way impact.
The Suns have likely built something sustainable, but they are set to become one of the more expensive teams in the league, with an owner, Robert Sarver, who has never shown the willingness to go deep into the luxury tax.
While Paul's days as a superstar are likely numbered with his advanced age, Booker and Bridges are both 25 and yet to hit their prime, while Ayton – whether he is viewed as a cornerstone of the future or as a premium trade asset – is just 23.
However, chemistry can be everything and this team, as is currently constructed, has it in spades.
It is easy to see how this could be the start of an incredible decade of Suns basketball – they are mostly young, and just set a franchise-record for wins in a season with 64.
But they are outliers this year, and outliers come back to earth at some stage – often sooner than we expect.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry said he does not need to be at 100 per cent to return from injury in Game 1 of his side's opening round series against the Denver Nuggets.
Curry has been out of action with a sprained foot since mid-March, and the Warriors have sputtered in his absence, going 8-10 in the 18 games the two-time MVP has missed this season.
While they did finish with a five-game winning streak to end the regular season, the Dubs will need a fit and in-rhythm Curry to go deep into the post-season.
It is being reported that the Warriors feel Curry's injury is simply going to be a matter of pain tolerance, with no fear that playing may exacerbate the problem.
Speaking with media after the Warriors' scrimmage on Thursday, Curry said if he is allowed to play, he will be there in Game 1.
"You get cleared to play, at that point there's no time to really worry about that," he said.
"Are you going to help the team win? Are you going to make an impact and do what you do? If I feel like the answer is yes, I'm going to play.
"I'm not worried about it being a limiting factor in terms of how I will approach the game – hopefully there's a little wiggle room to see how I feel out there."
When discussing his chances, Curry said he has "high confidence".
"Everything has been positive in terms of getting back out there and understanding I'll be ready to play whenever that time is," he said "I'm hoping it's Saturday.
"I'll try to be the best version I can be, having missed a little bit of time... I have high confidence I can go out there and help our team win."
Jarrett Allen could be a possible inclusion for the Cleveland Cavaliers when they face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Allen, who has been out since March due to a fractured finger, has not been ruled out for Friday despite being listed by Cleveland as questionable.
Following their 115-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday in their opening play-in game, the Cavaliers now face a must-win situation to keep their season alive.
The 23-year-old All-Star averaged 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game and held a career-best net rating of +26 before the injury, sustained in March against the Toronto Raptors, with the Cavs ending the regular season with a 7-11 record from that point.
Allen's inclusion would give Cleveland renewed flexibility with their rotation, using Lauri Markkanen and Evan Mobley in different defensive matchups on the back of Allen's rim protection.
With a win on Friday, JB Bickerstaff's side would secure a first-round playoff matchup against the Miami Heat, the Eastern Conference's first seed.
It is looking increasingly likely that Ben Simmons will play for the Brooklyn Nets this season after reports that he is targeting a return during his side's first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
Shams Charania from The Athletic – who is also represented by Simmons' agency, Klutch Sports Group – said the Nets are hoping the return comes around April 25-29, which coincides with Game 4, Game 5 and Game 6 of the series.
Simmons is yet to play at all this season after sitting out of the early portion of the season with the Philadelphia 76ers due to mental health reasons, and has been sidelined with a back injury since arriving with the Nets via trade.
While everything is trending positively for Simmons' Nets debut to come in this year's playoffs, superstar teammate Kevin Durant said he would believe it when he sees it.
"I'm not expecting him to play," he said after practice on Thursday.
"That's easier for me. I'm not putting any pressure on Ben to come out there and hoop.
"So I'm not expecting him to do anything but just to get his body right and get healthy as fast as he can – in my mind, I'm preparing as if we're playing with the team we have."
Head coach Steve Nash was non-committal when asked about Simmons' chances.
"It's up to Ben's back," he said.
"It's not up to me, any of us, other than his back… there's a chance Ben comes back, there's a chance he doesn't come back.
"So I think for us, we got to focus on the group; support Ben and his journey to get back on the floor, but at the same time we don't have time to lose focus on the group that's playing.
"Ben's a franchise cornerstone – but right now it's about supporting him physically and mentally to get back on the floor, and coaching the group to put its best foot forward in the first few games of the series at least.
"Internally, we're not sitting here saying 'Ben's returning in this series' – we'll see what happens."
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