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 The idle Pacers would secure the conference's top seed, and with
it home-court advantage for each series they play before the NBA
Finals, if the two-time defending champion Miami Heat lose their
road game to the Washington Wizards.
All eight of the East's playoff spots have been secured but the
Western Conference has one available postseason ticket with three
days left in the regular season.
The Suns, one game back of the eighth seed in the West, look to keep
the visiting Memphis Grizzlies from securing a trip to the
postseason while keeping their own playoff hopes alive.
Memphis, however, have more than just clinching a playoff berth on
their mind as they can claim the sixth seed, and a more favorable
first-round opponent, by winning their last two games coupled with a
pair of losses by the Golden State Warriors.
The San Antonio Spurs secured top spot in the West over the weekend
while the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers will
represent the next two seeds.
After that, the Houston Rockets will try to fend off the Portland
Trail Blazers for the fourth seed while the Warriors, Dallas
Mavericks, Grizzlies and Suns sort out the rest.
The Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls have already secured
home-court advantage for the East playoffs but the teams, tied for
third, are unsure which side of the playoff bracket they will land
in.
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Both teams have two games remaining and the Raptors hold the
tiebreaker over Chicago having won the Atlantic Division.
The fifth-seed Brooklyn Nets have a two-game lead over the
Washington Wizards while the Charlotte Bobcats are a further game
back.
The New York Knicks won both of their games over the weekend but it
was too little, too late as the Atlanta Hawks beat Miami to punch
their ticket as the East's eighth seed.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Steve Keating)
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