The NBA regular season is over and done with but there isn’t much time to rest because the playoffs will be underway at the weekend. Wednesday night was a big night of basketball action, and many bets were won and lost with so much to play for.
The Raptors won a narrow game at home to the Hornets with the Toronto side winning 92-87 while the Celtics defeated the Bucks in Milwaukee by a score of 100-105. The Nets won at home to Orlando, defeating the Magic by a score of 101-88 and the Cavaliers overcame the Wizards in Cleveland, winning by a score of 113-108. The Spurs lost in New Orleans, with the Pelicans sneaking into the playoffs after their 108-103 win against the reigning champions.
The Rockets defeated the Jazz in Houston, winning by a score of 117-91 and the Warriors won an almighty match against the Nuggets by a score of 133-126. The Thunder won away to the Timberwolves, winning by 113-138 and the Heat triumphed in Philadelphia, winning by 101-105. The Knicks slumped at home, losing 90-112 to the Pistons while the Bulls won 91-85 over the Hawks.
The Mavericks won 114-98 against the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies defeated the Pacers by a score of 95-83. The Lakers lost out at home with the Kings winning big in Los Angeles, triumphing by a score of 99-122.
Some teams can rest while other basketball teams need to push on for glory
The NBA Playoff Qualifiers for the 2014/15 season are:
Eastern Conference
- Atlanta Hawks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Chicago Bulls
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets
Western Conference
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- San Antonio Spurs
- Dallas Mavericks
- New Orleans Pelicans
Game 1 in all of the matches will take place on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
The games scheduled for Saturday the 18th of April are:
- Washington Wizards @ Toronto Raptors
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Golden State Warriors
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Chicago Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks @ Houston Rockets
The games scheduled for Sunday the 19th of April are:
- Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- Brooklyn Nets @ Atlanta Hawks
- Portland Trail Blazers @ Memphis Grizzlies
- San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers
All of the games are scheduled on a best of 7 format with games number 5, 6 and 7 only being played if required. The latest an individual match-up should conclude will be on the weekend of Saturday the 2nd of May and Sunday the 3rd of May, which will be the case if any match-up requires 7 games to settle the outcome.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...