Hawks playoff watch: Pacers or Nets comes down to final day
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It's simple now. This will be the final installment of the Hawks playoff watch on the final day of the regular season. The No. 1 Hawks will play either the Pacers or the Nets in the opening round of the playoffs. The Pacers control their fate.
The Pacers are in as the No. 8 seed with a win over the Grizzlies tonight. The Nets are in with a win over the Magic AND a Pacers loss tonight. The Pacers go if both teams win or both teams lose.
The Pacers grabbed the advantage with a double overtime win over the Wizards Tuesday. The Celtics secured the No. 7 seed with a last-second win over the Raptors. That win eliminated the Heat.
Here’s how things stand in the Eastern Conference for the final spot:
8. Indiana (38-43) 22.0 GB 1 games remaining
9. Brooklyn (37-44) 23.0 GB 1 game remaining
Upcoming schedules
Pacers: at Grizzlies Wednesday
Nets: vs. Magic Wednesday
EASTERN CONFERENCE
- ATLANTA HAWKS
- CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
- Chicago or Toronto
- Chicago or Toronto
- WASHINGTON WIZARDS
- MILWAUKEE BUCKS
- BOSTON CELTICS
- Indiana or Brooklyn
First-round matchups are:
No. 1 Atlanta vs. No. 8 Indiana or Brooklyn
No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 7 Boston
No. 3 Chicago or Toronto vs. No. 6 Milwaukee
No. 4 Chicago or Toronto vs. No. 5 Washington
About the Author
Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.
