Eastern Conference Play-in Set: Net Caves, Hawks at Hornets

The Brooklyn Nets won their regular-season final on Sunday and got the best seed in this week’s National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference Play-in Tournament.

The Nets finished the season 44-38 after losing to the Indiana pacers 134-126. As the 7th seed of the East, they will host the 8th Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday evening to start the play-in tournament.

The Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets both won their regular-season finals on Sunday to strengthen themselves to No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. The Hawks (43-39) will host the Hornets (43-39) on Wednesday evening.

The winner of the Brooklyn-Cleveland will advance to the playoffs and face a second-round pick (either Milwaukee or Boston) in the first round. The losers will host the winner of the Atlanta-Charlotte on Friday to determine who will draw the top pick Miami Heat in the first round.

Brooklyn had a similar record with Cleveland after the Cavs defeated Milwaukee on Sunday. But the Nets took home-court advantage for Tuesday with a regular-season series win, made possible by their 118-107 win against the Cavs on Friday.

The schedule for the Western Conference Play-in Tournament was finalized before Sunday’s action. Seed No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves will host No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. The No. 9 New Orleans Pelican will host the No. 10 San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

The play-in finals of both conferences are set for a doubleheader on Friday night. – Reuters