Golden State Warriors Vs Sacramento Kings Box Score

A new rule was implemented in response to second-round draft picks who quickly become superstars. Chris Mullin succeeded St. Jean with the title of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2004. He hoped to build a winning team around Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy Jr and Troy Murphy, and drafted 7-foot center Andris Biedriņš from Latvia . At the 2005 trading deadline, he bolstered to the team with the acquisition of point guard Baron Davis, bringing to the team its first superstar since Mullin himself.

The Warriors enjoyed a great start to the 2005–06 season, entering the new year with a plus .500 winning percentage for the first time since 1994, but managed to win only 13 more games through the end of March due to injuries. Davis often found himself at odds with new head coach Mike Montgomery and failed to remain healthy, playing in just 54 games. On April 5, 2006, the Warriors were officially eliminated from playoff contention in a 114–109 overtime loss to the Hornets, extending their playoff drought to 12 seasons. The Warriors posted many notable achievements during the 2016–17 regular season.

On November 7, 2016, Stephen Curry set the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a game with 13, in a 116–106 win over the Pelicans. On December 5, 2016, Klay Thompson scored 60 points in 29 minutes, in a 142–106 victory over the Pacers. In doing so, Thompson became the first player in NBA history to score 60 or more points in fewer than 30 minutes of playing time. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson were all named to the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, making the Warriors only the eighth team in NBA history to have four All-Stars. On February 10, 2017, Draymond Green recorded a triple-double with 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals, becoming the first player in NBA history to post a triple-double with fewer than 10 points.

On March 2, 2017, the Warriors' streak for most games without back-to-back losses ended at 146 with a 94–87 loss to the Chicago Bulls. In the 2012 draft, the Warriors selected small forward Harrison Barnes with the 7th overall pick, center Festus Ezeli with the 30th pick, small forward Draymond Green with the 35th pick, and 7-foot-1 center Ognjen Kuzmic with the 52nd pick. At the time, many basketball writers considered the move risky for Golden State because of Curry's injury history. In 2016, however, Slater argued that Curry's relatively inexpensive contract paid "huge dividends" by freeing up the necessary funds to allow the team to "keep a strong core around him".

The team made a series of other moves, trading Dorell Wright, obtaining point guard Jarrett Jack, and signing forward Carl Landry. The Warriors selected future All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson with the 11th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. However, the team did not improve in the 2011–12 NBA season under coach Jackson, finishing the lockout-shortened season with a 23–43 record and again failing to make the playoffs. Due to the 2011 NBA lockout, Jackson could not establish his system in training camp. Hindered by several injuries to key players, the team then entered into another chaotic rebuilding phase. These moves saw the rise of Stephen Curry and David Lee to team co-captains, and saw Thompson move into a starting role.

However, Curry suffered a series of ankle and foot-related injuries that limited him to 26 regular-season games. The team won more than 50 games for only the fourth time in franchise history, finished 20 games over .500 for the first time in 22 years, and tied the 1991–92 squad for the franchise's all-time mark of 24 wins on the road. Even without Bogut, the Warriors battled the third-seed Los Angeles Clippers to a seventh and deciding game in the first round of the playoffs before their 2013–14 season came to an end.

Curry and Klay Thompson continued to set league records in three-point shooting. Curry, who finished the season with 261 threes, set an individual record for most three-pointers in a span of two seasons with 533, surpassing the previous mark of 478 set by former Seattle SuperSonics legend Ray Allen in 2004–05 and 2005–06. Together, Thompson and Curry combined for 484 threes on the year, besting by one the NBA record they had set the year before. Floyd once scored 29 points for the Warriors in the fourth quarter of a playoff game against the Lakers, though he was later traded to the Houston Rockets.

Despite early-season injuries to Brandon Rush and Andrew Bogut, and despite starting two rookies , the 2012–13 Warriors had one of their best starts in decades. The team earned 20 wins in less than 30 games played for the first time since 1992. The Warriors also achieved a milestone by completing their first ever 6–1 road trip in franchise history, including a 97–95 win over the defending champion Heat in Miami. On April 9, 2013, with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors clinched the playoffs for the second time in 19 years and the first time since the 2006–07 "We Believe" Warriors. The team finished the season with a record of 47–35, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and defeated the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs by winning four out of six games. They lost in the second round to the San Antonio Spurs, four games to two.

This was the first playoff experience for all of the starters of this group except for Andrew Bogut. At the start of the next season, however, a rift formed between Webber and Sprewell on the one hand and Nelson on the other. The 1994–95 season was the first under new team owner Chris Cohan, who had bought out Fitzgerald and Finnane.

The Warriors selected power forward prospect Joe Smith as their first overall draft pick in 1995 and hired Rick Adelman as the new head coach. They sent Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling to the Miami Heat for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles midway through the 1995–96 season, and ended up with a 36–46 record, three wins short of making the playoffs. While their home court, the Oakland Coliseum Arena, was being extensively renovated, the 1996–97 Warriors played their home games in the San Jose Arena and struggled to a 30–52 finish. Following the season, Mullin was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Erick Dampier and Duane Ferrell. The Warriors began the 2013–14 season showing flashes of brilliance and also plenty of lapses.

In early December their record was 12–9, as compared to 17–4 the year before. One challenging factor was a tough starting schedule that saw them play 14 of their first 22 games on the road, including 10 games against teams holding playoff spots in the standings. A stream of injuries also held the team back, including injuries to Ezeli, Douglas, and O'Neal. With Iguodala back in the lineup, the Warriors went on a 10-game winning streak that included six consecutive wins on a single road trip, tying an NBA record. The winning streak was the longest for the franchise since the 1975 championship year, and fell just one win short of the team record of 11 consecutive wins.

The team broke a franchise record with 21 made three-pointers in a win against the Orlando Magic. In February 2011, the Warriors traded Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric for Troy Murphy and a 2012 second-round pick that was used on Draymond Green. On February 27, Murphy and the Warriors reached a buyout agreement and he was waived.

In April 2011, Dorell Wright made a franchise record of 184 three-pointers in a season in a home win versus Los Angeles Lakers, surpassing Richardson's 183 in 2005–06. In a win against the Portland Trail Blazers, Wright then broke another NBA record, becoming the first player to have scored more points in his seventh season than in all his first six seasons combined. Wright ended the season with the most three-pointers made in the NBA that season with 194, as well as the most three-pointers attempted with 516; each mark set a new Warriors franchise record. Coach Smart was dismissed on April 27, 2011 due to the change in ownership. Seventeen-year NBA veteran and former ABC and ESPN commentator Mark Jackson replaced Smart as head coach on June 6. The Kings have a plethora of guards – Fox, Haliburton, Mitchell, Hield – but they lack frontcourt options.

Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes are solid starters, but they are not dynamic offensive options that can consistently control the game. The Kings are contemplating their future and will likely be sellers at the deadline. With rumors that De'Aaron Fox is on the trading block, the Kings could look to construct a trade for Domantas Sabonis, who is averaging 19.1 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.4 BPG. Of their two main point guards, Tyrese Haliburton is the better option to build a franchise around.

Fox is a better scorer, but Haliburton is the better defender, playmaker, and shooter. In addition to their on court attributes, Haliburton has a much smaller contract and would give the Kings salary cap flexibility. Fox is 24 years old and set to make about $135,000,000 over the next 4 seasons.

Haliburton, meanwhile, is 21 years old and has a team option for about $4,200,000 next season and $5,800,000 the following season. Trading Fox for frontcourt help like Sabonis would balance the roster and provide a clearer path forward. Davion Mitchell and Buddy Hield are both starter-caliber players who could ensure the Kings still maintain a strong backcourt. The Warriors played their first regular-season game at the Chase Center on October 24, 2019, in a 141–122 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

During their very next home game, on October 30 against the Phoenix Suns, Curry broke his hand in a collision, requiring surgery that was expected to keep him out of action for at least 3 months. This, along with Thompson's injury rehab keeping him out the entire year, sent the Warriors into a downward spiral from which they never recovered. However, they saw second-round pick Eric Paschall, two-way player Damion Lee, and training camp pickup Marquese Chriss establish themselves as rotation players. At the trade deadline, the Warriors traded Russell, 2018 first-round pick Jacob Evans, and recent acquisition Omari Spellman to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, a top-3 protected first-round pick, and a second-round pick. Curry returned for one game on March 5 before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Warriors were not one of the 22 teams invited to the NBA Bubble on June 4, which ended their 2019–20 season with a league-worst record of 15–50.

Ellis was injured in a moped accident, and suspended for 30 games for riding the vehicle against the terms of his contract, depriving the Warriors of their top player. They traded disenchanted forward Al Harrington to the New York Knicks for guard Jamal Crawford, and were undone by injuries and the minimal experience of their young players such as Anthony Morrow and Brandan Wright. Coach Nelson often had to make adjustments to the starting lineups since many of the original starters missed games due to injuries. Despite the team's losing record, the Warriors were hard to beat when they had a healthy lineup and a strong bench. With leadership and improvement in their young players, they were sometimes able to defeat powerhouse teams such as the Boston Celtics, 99–89. In the 2007–08 season, the Warriors faced early difficulties in their attempt to return to the playoffs.

To make things even worse, Jackson was suspended for seven games over a firearm incident. The Western Conference was very strong that season; every playoff team won 50 games, leaving the Warriors two games out of the last playoff spot. The Warriors sold out nearly every home game during the season averaging 19,631 per game, the highest in team history. The Warriors began the 2015–2016 regular season by winning their first 24 games, the best start in NBA history.

These 24 wins included the best road start in NBA history at 14–0, surpassing the 1969–70 New York Knicks, which was also the joint-third longest road win streak. Their record-setting start ended when they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks on December 12, 2015. Golden State also won 28 consecutive regular-season games dating back to the 2014–15 season, eclipsing the 2012–13 Miami Heat for the second longest winning streak in NBA history. The team set an NBA record with 54 consecutive regular-season home wins, which spanned from January 31, 2015 to March 29, 2016; the previous record of 44 was held by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls team led by Michael Jordan. On May 14, 2014, the Golden State Warriors signed Steve Kerr to a reported five-year, $25 million deal to become the team's new head coach.

It was the first head-coach job for Kerr, 48, a five-time NBA champion guard who set an all-time career record for accuracy in three-point shooting (.454). Kerr had served as president and general manager for the Phoenix Suns basketball team from 2007 to 2010, and had recently been working as an NBA broadcast analyst for Turner Network Television . The Warriors also signed point guard Shaun Livingston and guard Leandro Barbosa during the off-season. Over the 17 years before Jackson took the helm in 2011, the franchise had averaged 30.2 wins per season and made the playoffs only once. Jackson became just the third Warriors head coach to notch at least 50 wins in a season, joining Nelson and Attles, who both hit the mark twice. Here you have the complete list of game played between the Warriors and the Kings with their all-time performance against each other in the NBA Regular Season.

It includes total games, wins and losses, scores, overtimes, dates and evolution of their head to head record. If it exists, data about the variants of the two franchises through the years is also shown. Thompson started the game alonside Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Looney, but only played 20 minutes, scoring 17 points on 7 of 18 shooting from the field. Thompson scored three of his eight attempts from beyond the arc, adding three rebounds, one assist, and one block.

The Warriors went into the 2018 playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference after earning a 2017–18 regular season record of 58–24. After defeating both the Spurs and the Pelicans 4–1, the Warriors came up against the top-seeded Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. Despite reaching a 3–2 disadvantage against the Rockets after Game 5, the Warriors staved off elimination and came back to win the series 4–3, winning the Western Conference for the 4th straight year.

The 2018 Finals pitted the Warriors against the Cavaliers for the fourth consecutive season; this marked the first time in NBA history that the same two teams had met in the Finals for four consecutive years. The Warriors swept the Cavaliers to win their second straight NBA championship; previously, there had not been an NBA Finals sweep since 2007. On August 30, 2018, David West announced his retirement from the NBA after 15 seasons. Following the 2018 NBA Finals, writers for Sports Illustrated, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Daily News described the Warriors as a dynasty. The Warriors returned to the Finals the following year and lost 4–2 to the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors earned home-court advantage throughout the 2017 playoffs, thanks to a 2016–17 regular-season record of 67–15.

They were the first team in NBA playoff history to start the playoffs 12–0, defeating the Trail Blazers, the Jazz, and the Spurs in consecutive series. The 2017 Finals once again pitted the Warriors against the Cavaliers, becoming the first time in NBA history that two teams met in the Finals for three consecutive years. The Warriors won the championship after going 4–1 in the Finals, and their 16–1 playoff record garnered the best winning percentage (.941) in NBA playoffs history. After the Warriors announced that they were uncertain if they would make the customary visit to the White House by playoff champions, President Donald Trump rescinded his invitation. To "celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion." Planned activities included meeting with local youth and a visit to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. On March 31, 2016, the Warriors won their 68th win of the season in an overtime game over the Utah Jazz, breaking the franchise record for most wins in a single season in franchise history.

On April 13, 2016, Golden State set the NBA record for most wins in a single season. On May 10, 2016, Stephen Curry was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season. Curry is the 11th player to win back-to-back MVP honors and became the first player in NBA history to win the MVP award by unanimous vote, winning all 131 first-place votes. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were all named to the 2016 All-Star Game.

Green broke the Golden State franchise record of nine triple-doubles in a season. Curry broke numerous three-point records during the season, including his own NBA record for made three-pointers in a season of 286; he finished the season with 402 three-pointers. He made a three-pointer in 151 consecutive games, which broke the NBA record of 127 set by Kyle Korver in 2014. On February 27, 2016, Curry also tied the NBA record of twelve three-pointers made in a single game, jointly holding it with Donyell Marshall and Kobe Bryant. Even as the team rolled towards the post-season, signs emerged of trouble in the Warriors' front office. Less than two weeks later, assistant coach Darren Erman was fired for secretly recording conversations between coaches, staff and players.

St. Jean had become the new Warriors' general manager in July 1997; he and his predecessor Dave Twardzik received much of the blame for the Warriors' struggles early in Cohan's turbulent tenure as owner in addition to Cohan himself. St. Jean brought in players such as Terry Cummings, John Starks and Mookie Blaylock who were well past their primes. Twardzik drafted several flops, such as Todd Fuller (while Kobe Bryant was still available as well as Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal) and Steve Logan . In the following draft, the team selected Adonal Foyle while Tracy McGrady was still available. St. Jean did, however, draft future two-time NBA slam dunk champion off-guard Jason Richardson , a Warriors' star scorer through the 2006–07 season.

Collectively known as "Run TMC" after the rap group Run-D.M.C., the trio stayed together for just two seasons and won only one playoff series. Nelson sent Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for rookie power forward Billy Owens, a promising young front-court player meant to complement the coach's run-and-gun system. Nelson had been brought to the Warriors from the Milwaukee Bucks by Jim Fitzgerald, who co-owned the team from 1986 and 1995 with Dan Finnane. In 1993–94, with first-round draft pick and Rookie of the Year power forward Chris Webber playing with off-guard Latrell Sprewell, the Warriors made the playoffs.

Experimenting with a small-ball lineup, LeBron James has started at center the last five games and guarded big men Larry Nance Jr, Naz Reid, Damian Jones, Clint Capela, and Jaren Jackson Jr. Although LeBron has the strength, size, and quickness to guard centers for stretches, it is not a viable long term strategy. He is 37 years old and will be worn out by the playoffs through the increased physicality his body must endure. After this Kings matchup, LeBron will face off against Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner all within the next three games.

Nba Standings Playoffs 2020 Latest Bracket

On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble. This proposal was then approved by members of the National Basketball Players Association on June 5. If the ninth seed within a conference would have finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, they would have then competed in a play-in series. The last time a play-in game was played to determine a playoff spot was in 1956. On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble, with 22 of the 30 teams in the league, all clubs within six games of a playoff spot. Under this plan, the 22 teams played eight regular-season "seeding" games.

A possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a de facto 1–0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed would need two. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World. At the end of the regular season, the top six teams in each conference clinched a playoff berth. The teams that finished seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth qualified for the play-in tournament, with teams positioned seventh and eighth playing one game, with the winner securing the seventh seed in the playoffs. The Celtics had done the hard work of defeating LeBron's top-seeded Cavs in 2010, and they rolled over the Magic, too, winning the first three games of the series before finishing them off in six.

Pierce , Rasheed Wallace , and Ray Allen all tormented the Magic's Howard-centric defense from 3-point range. In the East, it's hard to look past the Brooklyn Nets as the team to make the conference finals - and potentially win the championship itself. There was no reason at all to expect Denver to beat Seattle in the 1994 playoffs. Not at any point in the regular season, when Seattle was the best team in the NBA—63 actual wins and 64 Pythagorean wins—with Jordan retired. Not when their 1-versus-8 series began, given that no no. 8 seed had ever upset a no. 1 before. And certainly not when the series shifted to Denver after two games, both Seattle victories by double-digit margins.

This list uses a simplified version of the Restart Odds model that does not account for player absences, so some favorites that lost can blame their flip in fortunes on ill-timed injuries. Although they were only the West's no. 4 seed, these Clippers had the underlying numbers of one of the best teams in the league, including the fifth-best net rating across both conferences. They had high hopes for another playoff run after their 2015 collapse against the Rockets and started out strong, winning Game 1 by 20 points and Game 2 by 21.

But Chris Paul broke his hand in the third quarter of Game 4, and Blake Griffin aggravated a previous quad injury; with the Clippers' two biggest stars missing the rest of the series, the Blazers pounced. The same playoff format will still take place that the NBA has always used. 8 teams from each conference will play in the playoffs as follows. All series will be a best of 7 game series where a team that wins 4 games first advance to the next round.

There are 3 rounds that take place against teams in the same conference. The last team standing in each conference plays in the NBA Finals, Conference winner vs Conference winner. The play-in tournament will involve 4 teams from each conference that are seeded from 7 to 10 in the standings.

The 7 and 8 seeds will play one game and the winner will secure the 7th spot in the standings. The loser of the 7th and 8th seed plays the winner of the 9th and 10th seed, the winner of this game will be the number 8th seed. The 9 and 10th seed will have to win two games in order to advance and secure the 8th seed in the conference standings.

As for the play-in tournament, the winner of a game between the teams with the seventh-highest and eighth-highest winning percentages will land the No. 7 seed in the conference. The loser of that game will host the winner of a game between the teams featuring the ninth-highest and 10th-highest winning percentage. The winner of that game will earn the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.

Also known as the upset that prevented a LeBron vs. Kobe Finals, Orlando's win against the best regular-season team in Cavaliers history still looks surprising on paper. Cleveland won 66 games, with the point differential of a 65-win team, and LeBron James won his first MVP award; the Cavs then swept their first two playoff opponents en route to the conference finals. Orlando, meanwhile, was an accomplished team in its own right , but needed six and seven games to win their first two rounds, respectively. The NBA Board of Governors approved a format for the 2020–21 season to have a play-in tournament involving the teams that ranked 7th through 10th in each conference. The 7th place team and 8th place team participate in the double-chance game, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the 7-seed.

The loser then plays the winner of elimination game between the 9th place and 10th place teams to determine the playoff's 8-seed. The No. 9 Grizzlies finished within four games of the No. 8 Trail Blazers in the Western Conference standings, triggering a play-in tournament for the final playoff spot. The Trail Blazers defeated the Grizzlies in the play-in game to advance to the first round of the postseason. They will enter the bracket as the No. 8 seed and face the Lakers.

The 9th seed Charlotte Hornets will face the 10th seed Miami Heat. These two teams will have to win 2 games in a row to secure the 8th spot in the standings. The winner of the 9 vs 10 seed advances but plays a second game against the loser of the 7th versus 8th seed. Remember this is a play-in tournament and not the NBA playoffs itself. The winner will be 8th in the standings and play the number one seed Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA playoffs. So as you can see the 7th or 8th seed only needs to win one game while the 9th and 10th seed need to win 2 games.

The Spurs were the top seed in the West, with five wins in six tries against Houston in the regular season. But as this list demonstrates, Olajuwon enjoyed quite a career of beating Hall of Fame centers in the playoffs. As per the current NBA standings, a total of seven teams have qualified for the playoffs – three in the East and four in the West.

As per the new play-in tournament announced in the league, only the top six teams in each conference will have a confirmed playoff spot. The No. 7 to the No. 10 seed from each conference will be participating in the playoffs. Per conference, the play-in tournament will be played by Seeds 7-10. The loser plays the winner of the game between Seeds 9 and 10 for last remaining playoff spot. The playoff will have the top six teams from each conference advance directly, making it twelve teams with a secured spot at the postseason. The number seven and number eight seeds need to play additional games to reach the postseason via the play-in tournament, while the number nine and number ten seeds will have the opportunity to upset them in the process.

With both teams' stars out with injuries, both the Hawks and Bucks needed contributions from their other players in game 5. In addition to Lopez, 3 other Bucks starters scored at least 20 points. While Atlanta kept the game close, aided by Bogdan Bogdanovic's 28 points, the Bucks took a 3-2 series lead, leaving them one win away from the Eastern Conference championship. To finalize the seventh and eighth playoff spots for each conference, the NBA will host a play-in tournament May that includes teams with the seventh-highest through 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference. At the same time, the teams with the ninth- and 10th-best records will play a game, with the winner of that contest then meeting the loser of the "seven-eight" game for the right to become the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.

Intriguing differences in the playoff structure hold that the teams with the seventh-best and eighth-best records in each conference will play one game, with the winner becoming the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The Lakers and Spurs met in every postseason from 2001 through 2004, with the winner eventually making the Finals. The Lakers won in 2001 and 2002, the Spurs in 2003, and the 2004 series was the closest of them all. Once again, the Spurs were a much better regular-season team , but once again, the Lakers completed the upset. The teams split the first four games, each winning two at home, and the turning point came in an ugly Game 5. With the Spurs leading 71-70, Bryant made a jumper with 12 ticks remaining, only for Tim Duncan to respond by hitting an 18-foot fadeaway with O'Neal draped all over him, with just four-tenths of a second left.

In the second round or conference semifinals, the team that wins the 1-8 matchup plays the winner of the 4-5 series. The 2-7 winner faces the 3-6 and the two teams that win will play each other for the conference championship. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeded teams will play each other, the losing team getting a chance to play once again for a playoff spot. The ninth and tenth seed will play each other, where the losing team will be eliminated. The winner will get one more chance at the postseason, competing against the team that lost the other clash.

The play-in tournament starts two days later on Tuesday, April 12 and concludes Friday, April 15. All first games of the 8 first round matchups will be played either April 16 or 17. So we have the 7th seed, San Antonio Spurs versus the 8th seed, LA Clippers playing for the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They will only play one game and the winner secures the 7th seed and will face off against the 2nd place team in the Western Conference. Let's say the Spurs won they would secure the 7th seed and play the Nuggets in the first round. The Clippers are not out just yet, they will play a second game to try and secure their original seed of 8th place.

There are 15 teams in each conference, the reason the NBA chose seeds 7 to 10 for their play-in tournament is that there are only a few games separating those positions by a few wins. The NBA presented this format during the season restart, the Portland Trail Blazers beating out the Memphis Grizzlies for the final postseason seed in the West. Only the Western Conference used the tournament in the bubble since the final two seeds had less than a five-game lead following the eight-game restart. Ten teams in each conference will advance to the postseason, with teams seeded seventh through 10th participating in a play-in tournament to gain admission to the conference playoffs.

The Spurs were easily the league's best regular-season team in 2001, with a Pythagorean record six wins clear of anyone else. After sweeping the Trail Blazers and the Kings in the first two rounds, they did the same to the Spurs, with O'Neal and Kobe Bryant combining for 60 points per game. Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles were particularly humiliating, with the Lakers winning by 39 and 29 points, respectively.

"Custer has no idea," Gregg Popovich said after the series, evidently inviting reporters to compare the Spurs' loss to another resounding defeat. The Heat were led by former Knicks coach Pat Riley, who'd left New York for Miami via fax in 1995. The two teams had met in both the 1997 and 1998 playoffs, both series going the distance, both involving memorable brawls.

Their leading scorer in the series was Latrell Sprewell, who came off the bench every game, and was playing in his first season after a 68-game suspension accrued for choking coach P.J. And the upset ended with an Allan Houston game-winner in Game 5 in Miami—a leaner in a one-point game that bounced off the rim, kissed off the glass, then dropped through the net. The system allows the ten top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference standings to play their chances for a spot in the playoffs, making the end of the regular season more exciting. The winners of each of the conference championships then face each other in the NBA Finals. This year, the NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on June 2 to June 19, 2022. The home-court advantage in the NBA Finals goes to the team that recorded the most regular-season wins.

The first two games are at the higher-seeded team's home court and Games 3 and 4 are at the lower-seeded team's home court. A deciding Game 7 will always be played at the home of the higher seed. The history of rematches to determine a college football national champion It's not often teams that played during the regular season get back on the field again with national championship implications. Now, though, with the condensed 72-game season and the new play-in tournament format, teams that finish ranked No. 7 through No. 10 will contend for the final two spots in the postseason for each conference. Game 7 would go on to be an instant classic with both teams locked in for the entire game. In the final seconds of regulation, Kevin Durant appeared to have given the Nets a 1-point lead on a fadeaway three-point shot with 1 second left.

With the score tied at 109, Milwaukee had a chance to win the series, but Giannis Antetokounmpo's turnaround jumpshot missed, sending the game into overtime. The Nets held a two-point lead until the final 90 seconds of overtime where the Bucks would score on back-to-back possessions to get on the board and take a 113–111 lead with 40 seconds remaining. The Nets had possession in the last 15 seconds of the game, concluding with yet another game-tying, almost-three-point jump shot attempt by Durant; however, it was all air. The Bucks subsequently sealed the game on two free throws by Brook Lopez , sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years. It was also the Bucks' first victory on the road in a postseason game seven, having gone 0–7 in previous playoff road game seven's.

Devin Booker joined Rick Barry as the only players to record at least ten 30 point games in their first postseason all time. It came down to a late two-point conversion stop and a stressful onside kick recovery, but the Cleveland Browns are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, ending the league's longest active postseason drought. They will now play the Steelers again next week in the wild-card round. "Home-court advantage isn't that important," coach George Karl said after the loss. "It's nice to have in your back pocket, but playoffs generally are won by winning on the road. Now, we have to do that." Except they didn't do that, just as they hadn't done that against Denver the previous postseason.

Stan Van Gundy's one-in, four-out offense hummed; Dwight Howard averaged a double-double, while the team shot 41 percent from 3, with Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mickael Pietrus, and Rafer Alston all catching fire. The Magic clinched the series at home in Game 6, thanks to a tour de force from Howard. It was the only game all series in which LeBron didn't lead all players in points.

The league had already tested a version of the play-in format last summer with the 2020 NBA restart in the Orlando bubble. At the time, the Portland Trail Blazers played the Memphis Grizzlies to earn a berth in the Western Conference playoffs. For the first time in league history, the 2021 NBA playoff field was finalised following a play-in tournament to determine the seventh and eighth seeds in the Eastern and Western conferences. After an unprecedented 72-game regular season and historic play-in tournament, we now know the eight basketball teams that will be battling it out to claim the Larry O'Brien trophy in July.

Atlanta became only the third team since the current playoff format was introduced in 1984 to make the conference finals, despite having a losing record at the All-Star break—the Hawks were in February. Four teams are left in the NBA playoffs and the picture for the conference finals is now set. After beating Memphis on the final day of the regular season for the eighth seed in the play-in, the Warriors will host the Grizzlies yet again, this time on Friday to determine the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The 16 team's playoffs have followed the same format since 2016 with the top eight teams in each conference advancing to the postseason.

Here's a guide that helps you to know how NBA Playoffs formate does work. The 2022 NBA Playoff bracket is now fully set, postseason games set to begin from Saturday, April 16 until the NBA finals game 7 on Sunday, June 19. The Eastern Conference winner No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks win in the NBA Finals 2021 against the Western Conference winner No. 2 Phoenix Suns. With their late victory against the Warriors, the team from Tennessee take eighth spot in the Western Conference and will face the Utah Jazz in the first round, who ere the best team of the regular season.

The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the game between the Clippers and the Mavericks. The NBA regular season is coming to an end this May, and the playoffs will soon begin. This year the league will have the Play-In Tournament, significantly expanding the number of teams that could make it to the playoffs after the regular season ends to twenty. The way the conference finals are shaking out, we could get our first team into the NBA Finals on Monday night with the Phoenix Suns looking to close out the Los Angeles Clippers at home up 3-1 in the West Finals. The East may take a bit but the Milwaukee Bucks could have a shot at closing out the series as soon as Thursday in Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks went up 2-1 in the series after a convincing win in Game 3 on Sunday night.

We're going to be keeping track of which teams will be fighting for the Larry O'Brien Trophy in July. Devin Booker joined Charles Barkley and LeBron James as the only players with 40-point triple-double in a conference finals game. He also joined Oscar Robertson and Luka Dončić as the only players with a 40-point triple-double before turning 25. ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV broadcast the playoffs nationally in the United States. During the first two rounds, games were split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC regardless of conference. Regional sports networks affiliated with the teams also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC.