Hawks clinch NBA Playoff berth with win over Cavaliers

The Atlanta Hawks clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, while the Boston Celtics clinched the second spot in the Eastern Conference with a resounding victory.

CJ McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the game in sixth place in the East and were still in danger of falling to the play-in tournament in which teams ranked 7th through 10th will battle for the final two playoff spots in each conference.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for the Hawks, who led 61-48 at halftime and distanced themselves with a 16-0 scoring run at the end of the third quarter." "The goal was to qualify for the playoffs," Daniels said.

"The goal was getting in the playoffs," McCollum said. "Now for us it's about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go and we can ramp up."

The Cavaliers, with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference locked up and home-court advantage in the first round, rested Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen.

The Celtics, who had missed a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed after their loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday, achieved their goal with a season-high 29 three-pointers in a 144-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

It was the second time in two seasons that the Celtics matched the record of 29 three-pointers in a game, first set by the Milwaukee Bucks in December 2020 and also matched this season by the Memphis Grizzlies.

All 30 teams played on the penultimate day of the regular season, with more than a dozen of those heading into the postseason still battling for a playoff spot or preliminary round berth.

The Knicks clinched third place in the Eastern Conference with a 112-95 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto dropped from fifth to sixth with one game remaining and with the same 45-36 record as the seventh-ranked Orlando Magic, who beat the Chicago Bulls 127-103.

The Charlotte Hornets qualified for the preliminary round after their 118-100 loss to the Detroit Pistons, the top seed from the Eastern Conference.

Wembanyama returns

San Antonio, seeded second in the Western Conference, powered by superstar Victor Wembanyama's 40 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, defeated the Dallas Mavericks 139-120.

Wembanyama returned to action after missing one game with a bruised rib and, with 64 regular-season games and the NBA Cup Finals under his belt, has met the 65-game minimum to be eligible for season honors, including Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player.

The Denver Nuggets kept their aspirations for third place in the West alive with a 127-107 victory over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, in a game in which both teams rested all of their regular starters.

With three-time MVP Nikola Jokic among the Nuggets absentees, Jonas Valanciunas scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to propel Denver to its 11th straight win.

Perhaps it wasn't surprising that Oklahoma City, with first place in the West and the league's best record assured, shut out stars like reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

But Nuggets coach David Adelman said he was less concerned about his team's final position in the standings than whether his injured players would be healthy when the playoffs began.

"As a competitive person, I want everybody to play," Adelman said. "I think you just have to play it out with decisions that are best for your team."