INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers clinched the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and still have a shot at moving up to the third spot.
The Blue and Gold beat a short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers team on Thursday to improve to 49-31. The Cavs rested the majority of their starters because they’ve already clinched the top spot in the East.
The game came down to some fourth-quarter heroics and a final defensive stop. The win means the Pacers will finish with a better record than fifth-place Milwaukee, locking the Bucks out of the fourth seed.
The Bucks beat the Pelicans 136-111 on Thursday. Milwaukee faces a critical two-game series against the Detroit Pistons, currently sixth in the Eastern Conference. If Milwaukee wins one of the two games, they’ll be the fifth seed and likely face the Pacers in the first round, setting up a rematch of last year’s playoff series.
The Pacers, riding a six-game winning streak, could still move up as high as the third seed in the East. If they win out and the New York Knicks lose their remaining games, Indiana gets the third spot. They would then play whichever team finishes sixth (Milwaukee or Detroit).
The Pacers’ hopes for the third spot are still alive after the Pistons beat the Knicks 115-106 on Thursday.
Regardless of their final position in the East, this year’s playoffs will mark the first time the Pacers will host a first-round series in more than a decade. They’re one win away from finishing with 50 on the season, something the franchise hasn’t accomplished since 2013-2014, when they won 56 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Pacers remaining schedule
- Friday, April 11: vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, April 13: at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Knicks remaining schedule
- Friday, April 11: vs. Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, April 13: at Brooklyn, 1 p.m.