It will be the Pacers.
While the Hawks and Bobcats were playing a meaningless regular-season game in Atlanta, the Pacers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference without taking to the court. The Hawks and Pacers will meet in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch of last season’s postseason series.
The Hawks had already clinched the eighth seed. The Wizards drubbed the Heat, who played at the Wizards without LeBron James and Chris Bosh, to secure the top spot.
For the record, the Bobcats defeated the Hawks 95-93 Monday night at Philips Arena. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored a scrambling basket at the final buzzer for the comeback victory. The Hawks rested starters Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver and had nine available players against a full contingent of Bobcats. The Hawks sat Jeff Teague and Pero Antic for the entire fourth quarter.
The Hawks (37-44) had a three-game win streak snapped and lost for the second time in the past seven games. The loss ended an 11-game win streak over the Bobcats, who played a full contingent until the final buzzer.
Mike Scott led the Hawks with 20 points. Shelvin Mack (13 points), Lou Williams (13), Elton Brand (12), Teague (11) and Cartier Martin (10) all finished in double-figures.
Douglas-Roberts scrambled for the game-winning basket at the final buzzer on an inbounds play with 2.6 seconds left. The Bobcats erased a 15-point deficit with a 26-6 run to start the fourth quarter. They led by five points, 91-86, until Shelvin Mack scored five straight points to tie the game with 1:17 remaining. Al Jefferson hit a jump hook with a minute remaining to give the Bobcats a 93-91 lead. Lou Williams drained a jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining to tie the score.
The Bobcats (42-39), the seventh seed, won for the seventh time in the past eight games.
Jefferson led the Bobcats with a double-double of a game-high 27 points and 15 rebounds.
The Hawks led 80-65 after three quarters as Brand scored nine points in the period.
The Hawks started slowly and trailed by nine points, 15-6, early in the game. The Hawks started a rally and cut the margin to a point by the end of the first quarter. A Scott basket with 7:07 left in the second quarter gave the Hawks a 37-36 lead. The led by as many as eight points in the period and took a 50-44 lead into the intermission.
Hawks play their final regular-season game Wednesday at the Bucks before opening the playoffs this weekend.
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