And there you have it, the first phase (not always easy to follow) of the first NBA Tournament is over, and we now know the posters for the quarter-finals, as well as the schedule.
The four undefeated teams (Lakers, Kings, Bucks, Pacers) will play at home on December 4 and 5. Then, the semi-finals and the final will be played on December 7 and 9 in Las Vegas.
QUARTER FINALS
December 4
Indiana – Boston (1:30 a.m. French time)
Sacramento – New Orleans (04:00)
December 5
Milwaukee – New York (01:30)
LA Lakers – Phoenix (04:00)
Apart from the four undefeated teams, the qualifications of the other four teams were sometimes decided by little. The Pelicans, for their part, finished first in their group thanks to their record (3-1) while Houston could have taken first place from them, but missed the boat by losing last night against Dallas.
Tied with the Magic and the Nets (3-1), the Celtics validated their place by crushing the Bulls to overtake their competitors on “point average”: +27 against +22 for Orlando and +20 for Brooklyn.
Finally, the Knicks and the Suns obtained the two best “second places”, New York taking the best of the Cavaliers on “point average”: +42 for New York against +29 for Cleveland. Same thing for Phoenix against the Wolves, with +34 against 0 for Rudy Gobert’s troop, which therefore falls by the wayside.
Note that all players still competing in the tournament will receive a bonus, with the losers of the quarter-finals each receiving $50,000. The semi-final losers will receive $100,000. The losers of the final will win $200,000 while the winners will each take home a check for $500,000.
