NBA playoffs: Raptors beat Nets backups to secure East's final guaranteed playoff spot

1 week ago 8

The Toronto Raptors entered Sunday’s season finale against the Brooklyn Nets knowing that a win would secure the final guaranteed spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Nets didn’t put up a fight. Playing against a Nets starting lineup consistently entirely of backups, the Raptors secured a 136-101 win to clinch the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

And thanks to the Atlanta Hawks losing to the Miami Heat, the Raptors passed the Hawks for the No. 5 seed, sending Atlanta to No. 6.

Magic, 76ers relegated to play-in

The Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers also entered Sunday with a shot at the final guaranteed playoff spot, but both teams needed the Raptors to lose. The 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 126-106 and would have earned that playoff spot had the Raptors lost. The Magic suffered a 113-108 loss to the Boston Celtics.

With its win and Orlando’s loss, Philadelphia leapfrogged Orlando for the No. 7 seed and will now host a play-in game (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ET) between the two teams. The winner of that game will secure the No. 7 seed in the East, and the loser will move to a must-win game against the 9/10 winner (Hornets vs. Heat, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET) for the No. 8 seed.

All Play-in games will be streamed on Amazon Prime.

Nets make it easy for Raptors

Like many teams with little or nothing to play for Sunday, the Nets did not field a competitive lineup on Sunday. All of their regular starters had the day off. Backups Trevon Scott, E.J. Liddell, Drake Powell, Malachi Smith and Ben Saraf started and anchored a eight man Nets rotation.

With a playoff post on the line, the Raptors played their starters, and they had little trouble securing the win after opening a 70-61 halftime lead. RJ Barrett led Toronto in scoring with 26 points, while Brandon Ingram tallied 25 points and 9 rebounds. Scottie Barnes posted a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists

The league has been under fire for fielding non-competitive games during the stretch run of the regular season as teams rest their starters for various reasons including improving their NBA lottery odds or jockeying for preferred playoff positioning. Sunday’s result that allowed the Raptors to coast into the East’s final playoff spot will only amplify that criticism.

Eastern Conference playoff and play-in matchups

Playoffs

1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) play-in winner
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) play-In winner (76ers or Magic)
(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Toronto Raptors