On April 12, Beijing time, the NBA entered the penultimate game day, and there are not many games today, but there are a few related to the Western Conference play-off pattern. First of all, the Celtics, who determined the first place in the league early, swallowed another humiliating defeat, and were beaten by the Knicks led by Brunson in the third quarter without a round of rest in the Big Five! Secondly, the Warriors were very passive in the first three quarters in the face of the fish belly Trail Blazers, but fortunately, Curry stepped up in the middle of the fourth quarter to lead the team to lock up the victory. And in the card battle between the Pelicans and the Kings, Zion and McCollum broke out to help the Warriors. In addition, the Lakers news update, tomorrow to play the Grizzlies to welcome the good, Grizzlies 13 absent! Ingram, Xiaoka and others also ushered in injury updates, and finally let's analyze the latest situation in the East and West.
Lakers news update
The Lakers have 2 games left, which are against the Grizzlies and Pelicans, but even if the Lakers win all, they may not be able to enter the top eight, because they are stuck in the ranking by the Kings, and the Kings swept the Lakers 4-0 in the regular season, and the relationship between victory and defeat is superior. In this case, the Lakers can only win with all their might, and the rest depends on God's will. According to the latest official injury report of the Grizzlies, 13 players, including Morant, Bane, Jaren Jackson, Smart, Zaire Williams, Vince Williams, Konchar, and Kennard, are unable to play, and they rely on a development league-level lineup led by Pippen Jr. and GG Jackson to face the Lakers! But when Wei Shao and the Lakers failed to work, he asked the management to send Wei Shao away, which Magic Johnson once confirmed.
The Warriors won hard, tying eighth in the West
In a battle with the Trail Blazers, Klay + Dream Green + Payton Jr. didn't play, Paul partnered Curry's starting backcourt combination, the Trail Blazers wantonly wrapped Curry, and the key is that no one on the Warriors' interior line restricted Ayton. In the first three quarters, Ayton and Henderson suppressed the Warriors all the way until the middle of the fourth quarter, Curry Curry jumped + three points on the wing + fed Looney + counterattacked to assist Poger for a layup, and then Paul made a three-pointer to seal the win. In the end, the Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 100-92. Over the court, Curry had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, Kuminga had 19 points and 6 rebounds, Wiggins had 15 points and 5 rebounds, and Ayton had 25 points and 11 rebounds. The team had 16 turnovers, and to tell the truth, this kind of performance didn't deserve to win, but fortunately, the Trail Blazers didn't want to win at all and let the Warriors go.
NBA Injury Summary
The Pelicans beat the Kings in today's game, and Ingram stand-in Murphy scored 27 points and performed well. According to the Pelicans team reporter, in the next game of the Pelicans against the Warriors, Ingram continued to take a break, and the final game against the Lakers is expected to Ingram to return and find a state and rhythm for the playoffs. In addition, Timberwolves' Towns is expected to return to the team this Saturday against the Hawks after a five-week break, while the Clippers, Carins Jr. will continue to be suspended tomorrow for tomorrow's game against the Jazz due to an inflamed right knee, which is the seventh game he has missed in a row. And Harden is also doubtful because of a foot injury, and it is possible that George and Wei Shao will lead the team to play the Jazz.
Other competitions
The Bulls beat the Pistons 127-105, DeRozan scored 39 points, Vucevic had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and the ninth and tenth place in the East was determined to be the single-elimination game between the Hawks and the Bulls. The Celtics 109-118 Knicks, Brunson scored 39 points in the third quarter, leading the team to open a 31-point gap at one point. The Celtics didn't work hard, Brown scored 15 points, Tatum had 18 points and 7 assists, and the late quarter came off the bench to recover 20 points. The Rockets lost to the Jazz 121-124, VanVleet scored 42 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and Green only played 19 minutes, scoring 3 points and 3 turnovers on 1-of-7 shooting. Pelicans 135-123 Kings, Zion 31 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, McCollum 31 points and 7 assists, Pelicans beat Kings 5 times this season!
Analysis of the situation in the east
The Celtics are first with 62 wins and 18 losses, the Bucks are 49 wins and 31 losses, the Knicks are 48 wins and 32 losses, and the Cavaliers are 47 wins and 33 losses. The Magic and Pacers behind them are both 46-34, and they also have a chance to compete for third place in the East, but the probability is relatively small, while the 76ers, who have a record of 45-35, although they have won six consecutive wins, can only compete for fourth place in the East at most, and the Heat are 44-36 and have a chance to compete for fifth place in the East. The Bulls and Hawks play a play-in game, and the Bulls have home-court advantage.
Analysis of the situation in the west
The Nuggets are 56-24 and are basically locked in first, the Timberwolves and Thunder are 55-25, the Clippers are 51-29, and if they can win against the Jazz tomorrow, they can lock up the fourth place in the West, and the Mavericks are 50-30. After a three-game winning streak, the Pelicans are ranked sixth with a record of 48 wins and 32 losses, one win ahead of the Suns, and the Pelicans want to get a straight ticket to the playoffs, and the remaining two games must beat the Warriors and Lakers. The Suns are 47-33 and have won all the remaining games, relying on the Lakers and Warriors to stop the Pelicans in order to finish in the top six. And the Kings + Warriors + Lakers have a record of 45 wins and 35 losses, and the Kings are ahead of the Warriors and Lakers. If the Kings lose to the Suns, the Warriors can enter the top eight.