The NBA playoffs are set

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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will be in New Orleans for a few more days. Stephen Curry and Golden State go back to Sacramento, which will be destroyed again. And the Miami Heat are back to the game that started their run to the NBA Finals last year.

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A playground has been installed. On Tuesday, it's the Lakers who face the Pelicans for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, followed by the Warriors and Kings in an elimination game. The Heat travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday to decide the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, followed by Chicago at Atlanta, win or otherwise.

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“This is the best time of the year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “These kinds of environments, games, context…you can't expect it to be easy.”

Fifteen of the 20 postseason seeds were decided on Sunday, three of four games and three of four first-round series that did not include teams in the playoffs.

The final order in the East is: Boston, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Orlando, Indiana, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. In the West, in order from No. 1 through 10 are Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas, Phoenix, New Orleans, Lakers, Sacramento and Golden State.

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“It's good momentum going into the playoffs,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after his team finished No. 1 in the West. “There is nothing to complain about. … We won a lot of basketball games. It all boils down to this. “Everybody puts on their shoes to win basketball games and have a chance to win a championship.”

The only first-round series set before Sunday was Clippers-Mavericks in the West. Now added to the list: Bucks-Pacers and Cavaliers-Magic in the East, along with Timberwolves-Suns in the West.

The games themselves didn't bring much drama on the final day of the regular season. Only one of the 15 games was decided by one possession – and that was at Madison Square Garden, where New York won big. The Knicks beat Chicago 120-119 in overtime to leapfrog Milwaukee for the No. 2 seed in the East.

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“Regular season,” Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “Let's get ready for the playoffs.”

Some of Sunday's biggest upsets: Oklahoma City beats Dallas by 49 points to take over No. 1 seed in the West, Indiana beats Atlanta by 42 points, Sacramento beats Portland by 39 points, San Antonio beats Detroit by 28 points and Orlando beats Milwaukee by 25 .

Orlando has won 47 games to capture the Southeast Division and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

“Proud of them,” Magic coach Jamal Mosley said. “There are not many words for it. You talk about a group that has gone up, gone down, fought back, endured…they've proven it. Big stakes, they've got it in their hands.”

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The winner of the Heat-76ers will face No. 2 New York in the 1st round of the playoffs, while the loser will host the winner of the Hawks-Bulls for a chance to face No. 1 Boston on Friday night. The Lakers-Pelicans winner will earn the No. 7 seed and play defending champion Denver in Round 1 — the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets last season — and the Lakers-Pelicans loser will meet the Sacramento-Golden State winner for playoff eligibility. #1 Oklahoma City.

Golden State went on to win 7 games in Sacramento last season. The Warriors need to win a game that will have Game 7 implications on Tuesday.

“It's going to be a great atmosphere,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Obviously we were there last year. They will have their own group behind them. Better not to get on the plane. So tomorrow we will get on the bus, get ready and be ready to go.”

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The only spot that changed Sunday in the East was the No. 2 and No. 3 spots between the Knicks and Bucks. The West saw a double whammy on the final day, with Denver past No. 2 Minnesota to help send the Timberwolves to No. 3, while Phoenix moved up one spot to No. 6 and the Pelicans dropped one spot to No. 7.

Phoenix won at Minnesota on Sunday and now returns to action next weekend for Game 1.

“Now is the time,” Suns guard Bradley Beal said. “It starts now.”

Cleveland is the No. 4 seed in the East for the second year in a row. The Cavaliers had a chance to climb into the No. 2 or No. 3 seed with a win Sunday and, depending on the lottery, led Charlotte by 13 with 10 minutes left.

Still, they seemed unwilling to go up, going 30-7 the rest of the way. Charlotte won 120-110 in coach Steve Clifford's final game with the Hornets.

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