The Boston Celtics emerged victorious on the final night of group play in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament. With the tiebreaker drama and scoreboard watching that the league was hoping for, the night did not disappoint.
In the East quarterfinals, the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks will host the wild card New York Knicks, while the Indiana Pacers will face the Boston Celtics. In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns both advanced out of Group A, while the New Orleans Pelicans took Group B.
The final day of group play necessitated a big win for the Celtics as they faced off against the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics entered the game with a simple directive: beat the Chicago Bulls as hard as humanly possible. They needed a blowout win in order to secure their spot over the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics delivered, securing a 27-point differential with their impressive 124-97 win over the Bulls. This earned them a quarterfinal spot and the top seed in East Group C, and advanced them to face the Indiana Pacers.
Meanwhile, the Bucks took care of business against a Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, improving their record to 4-0 and taking East Group B. A 131-124 victory secured their top spot.
The New York Knicks were also successful in their 115-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets, improving their point differential to +42 and securing the East wild card.
The Pelicans clinched West Group B thanks to a loss by the Houston Rockets. The Lakers and Suns also clinched their spots to advance to the quarterfinals with impressive 4-0 records coming out of group play.
The NBA in-season tournament now moves on to the quarterfinals on December 4th and 5th, with games hosted by the higher seeds. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for December 7th and 9th in Las Vegas. All games, except for the final, will count toward regular season records.
The Celtics and the Bucks, among others, will face new challenges as they move forward through the tournament. Fans are sure to be on the edge of their seats as they anticipate the upcoming quarterfinals.