The Celtics clinched a playoff spot with their win over the Hornets tonight, as the NBA laid out in a pre-game tweet. They became the second Eastern Conference team to do so, behind the Pistons, who officially nabbed a berth over a week ago.
Jayson Tatum had a vintage performance for the short-handed Celtics, scoring 32 points and adding eight assists in 31 minutes.
In the Western Conference, the Warriors and Trail Blazers are officially locked into a play-in spot thanks to the Rockets winning their matchup against the Pelicans tonight. This marks the third-straight play-in entry for Golden State, and the fourth in six years, Angelina Martin writes for NBC Sports Bay Area.
“I’m sick of the play-in,” Draymond Green said recently. “It seems like we’re a play-in magnet. It sucks, but it’s great when you want an opportunity to get into the playoffs. And that is the reality for us.”
The Warriors still have some room for movement, as they were one game behind the ninth-seed Blazers and 2.5 games behind the 8th-seed Clippers heading into their Sunday night contest against the Nuggets.
The Blazers are 1.5 games behind the Clippers after beating the Wizards on Sunday. If they manage to get out of the play-in, it would be their first playoff appearance since 2021.
The Knicks could have locked in their own playoff spot with a win over the Thunder tonight, but lost 111-100 and now are just 1.5 games ahead of the Cavaliers as they try to maintain their third-seed positioning.