The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a big victory on Tuesday night 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics. The win kept their slim hopes for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference alive and it also earned them their first win over the Celtics on the season. The win gives them some confidence that they can hang with the Celtics in a potential playoff series.
Until the conclusion of the regular season on April 9, we are going to update the Eastern Conference standings and where the Sixers are at on a daily basis while taking a look at who they could face in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Tuesday’s most prominent games (April 4)
Along with the Sixers knocking off the Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards 140-128 which strengthened their hold for the No. 1 seed in the East. The magic number for the Bucks to clinch the No. 1 seed is now just one with three games to play.
Wednesday’s most prominent games (April 5)
The Celtics will take on the Toronto Raptors at home on Wednesday. If Boston wins that game, then the Sixers will officially be locked into the No. 3 seed. The Celtics would hold a 2.5-game lead over the Sixers at that point and they hold the tiebreaker over Philadelphia.
Important matchups
Celtics vs. Raptors (7:30 p.m. EDT)
Possible playoff opponent Nets take a loss
The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-102 on Wednesday at home. The loss combined with a 118-105 Miami Heat win over the Detroit Pistons keeps the Heat alive for the No. 6 seed in the East. Brooklyn’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot, and the No. 6 seed, is set at two with three games to play for both teams.
The Nets take on the Pistons on the road on Wednesday as they look to take another step toward clinching a playoff spot. Detroit is 1-21 in its last 22 games so one has to assume that Brooklyn will get it done.
In other play-in news, the Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors and the Bulls are locked into play-in tournament spots while the Hawks and the Heat can still catch the Nets for the No. 6 seed.
Wednesday’s important matchups
Nets at Pistons (7 p.m. EDT)
Hawks vs. Wizards (7:30 p.m. EDT)
Bulls at Bucks (7:30 p.m. EDT)
April 5 East playoff standings
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X-Milwaukee Bucks 57-22 -GB
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X-Boston Celtics 54-25 3 GB
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X-Philadelphia 76ers 52-27 5 GB
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X-Cleveland Cavaliers 50-30 7.5 GB
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X-New York Knicks 46-33 11 GB
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Brooklyn Nets 43-36 14 GB
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Miami Heat 42-37 15 GB
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Atlanta Hawks 40-39 17 GB
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pi-Toronto Raptors 40-39 17 GB
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pi-Chicago Bulls 38-41 19 GB
X- denotes clinched playoff berth
pi-denotes clinched play-in tournament berth
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire