NBA Playoffs Blog – Page 72 – NBA Blog

Milwaukee Bucks qualify for NBA playoffs

The Milwaukee Bucks had been sputtering lately, but that was all forgotten after they clinched a playoff berth by crushing Toronto, 100-83, Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Milwaukee (37-39) won for just the third time in its last 10 games to move within two games of idle Boston, which holds the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

“You work hard all season,” Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. “It’s a long season. We’ve had ups and downs. It’s 82 games. We’ve still got a few games left. We kind of hit a rough patch here toward the end, but we’ve had some good patches, too, at certain times during the season, which enabled us to be in this position.

“It’s pretty nice to clinch when you have six games left so you can start getting yourself ready for whoever it is you’re going to play against. The guys have worked very hard, and it’s very satisfying for us.”

— Reported by Dave Boehler, special to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Coach Doc Rivers hopes Celtics avoid Heat in playoffs

Does he pay attention to the standings?

“I do but I don’t,” Rivers said in his best hedging language. “I really don’t. I know we’re in the seventh spot. I know we want to stay out of the eighth spot.

So, Rivers is actually admitting he wants avoid the Heat?

“Of course we would,” Rivers admitted when asked that very question. “But if we play them, we’ll be ready. But of course we would. Listen, I’m not that dumb. I’m not the brightest guy but come on. Really, you would love to avoid anyone [like Miami]. Listen, no matter who we play, we’re going to play a tough team. It’s going to be New York, Indiana or Miami. There’s no cakewalk for us. It’s going to be hard.”

To Rivers point, the Celtics are 1-3 this year against New York, 1-2 against Miami and 2-0 against Indiana. The Celtics play the Heat next weekend in Miami and the Pacers at the Garden on April 16.

— Reported by Mike Petraglia of WEEI

Celtics beat Pistons and clinch playoff spot

Ray Allen left as a free agent. Rajon Rondo is out for the season. Kevin Garnett is recuperating from an ankle injury.

With the core of the Celtics team that won the franchise’s 17th NBA title in 2008 otherwise occupied, Jeff Green led Boston back into the playoffs.

The Celtics swingman scored 34 points [on 13-of-19 shooting], including a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to snap a two-minute scoring drought, to help Boston beat the Detroit Pistons 98-93 on Wednesday night and clinch the team’s sixth consecutive playoff berth.

”We knew we were a playoff team before the season started, despite the injuries and everything,” said Paul Pierce, the only holdover from the team that won it all in 2008 and returned to the NBA finals two years later.” …

Pierce and Brandon Bass scored 17 apiece, and Bass added seven rebounds for the Celtics, who had lost two in a row and seven of their previous nine.

The victory, coupled with Philadelphia’s 88-83 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, left Boston 8 1/2 games ahead of the 76ers with eight games to play. It’s the sixth consecutive season Boston has reached the playoffs since the New Big Three was assembled in the summer of 2007…

Green scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and added six rebounds and four blocked shots in the game. He has become one of the players the Celtics look to for big plays as the clock runs down, sharing the role that Pierce had occupied for more than a decade…

Greg Monroe had 24 points and 17 rebounds and Rodney Stuckey scored 22 for the Pistons.

— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press

Atlanta Hawks clinch spot in NBA playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks weren’t expected to make it back to the playoffs after trading Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams last summer.

It must feel good to silence the doubters.

Al Horford scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jeff Teague had 24 points and 13 assists and the Hawks clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight season, beating the Toronto Raptors 107-88 on Wednesday night.

”I’m really proud of this bunch with what we accomplished tonight,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. ”There were a lot of people that counted us out at the start of the season and said we wouldn’t be in this position. With all the changes that we made, here we are.”

Teague was just as delighted.

”This is a group no one really gave a chance,” he said. ”For us to come together and be in the playoffs this year, it’s a lot of excitement.” …

Josh Smith scored 19 points for the Hawks, who used a 16-0 run midway through the fourth to win for the 13th time in their last 15 meetings with the Raptors…

Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points, DeMar DeRozan had 14, Terrence Ross 13 and Alan Anderson 12 for the Raptors, who have lost four straight and 11 of 14.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Mavericks in danger of missing playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks are trying to climb into the Western Conference playoff picture, and more big performances from Vince Carter could help them reach that goal.

Dallas looks to match its longest winning streak of the season at four games Tuesday night as it visits the surging Milwaukee Bucks.

After 12 consecutive postseason appearances, the Mavericks (29-33) are in danger of missing the playoffs. They sit in a 10th-place tie with Portland in the West, three games out of the eighth and final spot.

Dallas, though, appears to be getting hot at just the right time thanks in large part to Carter. The 36-year-old former All-Star has gone 12 for 23 from 3-point range and averaged 16.0 points in helping the Mavericks win four of five this month.

“It’s not necessarily just scoring, but, in general, I understand what’s going on and I just made it my business to be locked in and want to do whatever is needed,” he said.

— Reported by Noey Kupchan of STATS/Associated Press

Clippers locking into playoff mindset

Winning the Pacific Division will guarantee the Clippers a top four seed but you can throw the seedings out the window if a lower-seeded team finishes with a better record than the Clippers. The team with the better record would capture home-court advantage in any round. So for example in a possible 4-5 match-up, the Grizzlies and Nuggets would have homecourt as the five seed if they finish with a better record.

Though the Clippers have always said they are only focusing on the here and now, with 17 games left in the season, the focus has to shift toward the playoffs and getting the best seed and matchup possible.

It’s only a matter of time before the Clippers capture their first division title and win 50 or more games in a season for the first time in franchise history. But it will be all for naught if they sputter down the stretch and are forced to open the playoffs on the road against Memphis or Denver.

They’d probably like to avoid Memphis and Denver altogether and try to face a team such as Houston, which has lost all three games against the Clippers this season.

— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles

Brandon Jennings would be fine with facing Heat in first round of playoffs

Bucks guard Brandon Jennings made a rather startling observation after practice Friday.

While he wants the Bucks to move up in the playoff seedings if possible, he said it’s OK with him to face the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round. That’s the Heat, as in the streaking team that has won 16 straight games entering a home game against Philadelphia on Friday.

“The two games that we played Miami so far, we matched up well against them,” Jennings said. “If you ask me, that’s who I would want to play first round, Miami.

“Just the fact over the years, a lot of the games have gone down to the wire with us and Miami. Right now we haven’t really played well against the Knicks. I just feel better if we play Miami first round, just the fact we have good games against them.

“I don’t know if it’s because they’re the champs or what, but we always play harder against Miami.”

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Miami Heat clinch playoff berth with 17th straight victory

With 22 games remaining in the regular season, the NBA’s defending champion Miami Heat became the first team to clinch a postseason berth.

Miami also extended its winning streak to 17 games with a 102-93 victory over Philadelphia Friday night in front of 20,029 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The victory tied the Clippers’ 17-game win streak from Nov. 28-Dec. 30, 2012, as the longest such stretch in the league this season.

Down by one point with 11:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Heat scored 10 straight points to take control. Seven different Heat players scored in the final 12 minutes.

Opponents have now recorded 100 points or more in the past three games against the Sixers after accomplishing the feat only twice in 14 games prior. As a team, Miami outscored Philadelphia 60-38 in the paint as well as 55-42 in the second half.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Durant still mad about losing to LeBron in Finals

Kevin Durant can’t hide from the hurt this summer.

LeBron James is right there every time he steps on the basketball court now. The NBA Finals ended in Miami only about three weeks ago, with James’ victory celebration interrupted only briefly to embrace his opponent in a consoling hug.

Durant admits it bothers him coming to the gym and seeing James every day.

“It does. It does, but what can I do?” Durant said Tuesday. “He’s my teammate now. I’m a team player. I can’t let that affect this. This is bigger than that. It’s tough to lose in the finals and play the guy you’ve been going up against for five games who beat you. So me, I’m just going to get over it, still be a great teammate, come out and play hard.”

Kobe Bryant was in Durant’s shoes four years ago, having to shake off the disappointment of a finals loss to the Boston Celtics and get back out on the court for the Olympics. He said it’s normal to not want to play for a few days, but figures Durant has had enough time to get over it by now.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Thousands of fans greet Oklahoma City Thunder at airport

More than 2,500 Oklahoma City Thunder fans found their way to Will Rogers Airport Friday afternoon to welcome their team home.

The team landed in Oklahoma City around 2 p.m.

Fans packed a designated area just north of the airport to watch the team deplane and waited near a temporary stage, where players and coaches were expected to address the crowd.

— Reported by RJ Young of the Oklahoman

Here is a photo.