The 2014-15 regular season is officially over, and the playoffs are set. Peep the match-ups below. Thanks for rockin’ with the Post Up all season long — we appreciate you!
East
(1) Hawks vs (8) Nets
(2) Cavaliers vs (7) Celtics
(3) Bulls vs (6) Bucks
(4) Raptors vs (5) Wizards
West
(1) Warriors vs (8) Pelicans
(2) Rockets vs (7) Mavs
(3) Clippers vs (6) Spurs
(4) Blazers vs (5) Grizzlies
Cavaliers (53-29) 113, Wizards (46-36) 108
LeBron sat this one out, but the Cavs still took care of the Wizards in a scrub-fest. Kevin Love dropped 19 points in 18 minutes before resting the remainder of the meaningless outing for both teams. Matthew Dellavedova posted 18 points and 12 assists. Brendan Haywood hit some big buckets in overtime to propel the Cavs to their 53rd and final win of the regular season. Second-seeded Cleveland will face seventh-seeded Boston this weekend. Do you think the Cavs have what it takes to win it all?
Raptors (49-33) 92, Hornets (33-49) 87
The Raptors snuck by Charlotte thanks to 26 points, 7 assists and 3 steals from Kyle Lowry. DeMar DeRozan put up 16 points, 6 assists and 2 steals and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points on 9-11 from the field. Troy Daniels came off the bench for the Hornets and dropped 24 points on 6-13 threes in 29 minutes, while Kemba Walker scored 17 in the loss. Four seed T. Dot will face five seed Washington in the first round. Paul Pierce said Tuesday that the Raptors don’t scare him. Toronto has the chance to make him bite his words. Who y’all got in that series?
Bulls (50-32) 91, Hawks (60-22) 85
The Bulls nabbed the third spot in the East thanks to last night’s win over top-seeded Atlanta. It was a strong win for Chicago heading into the playoffs and the team’s fourth straight to close the season. Jimmy Butler scored 21 points, 6 rebounds and snagged two steals, Pau Gasol posted 18 points, 13 boards and 2 blocks, and Aaron Brooks went for 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals off the bench. The game seemed to be slipping away from Chi-town — ATL was up by 18 at one point — but the Bulls had a comeback in ’em and got it done. Dennis Schroder scored 21 points on 9-13 field goals in 17 minutes off the bench for the Hawks, who will face Brooklyn on Sunday.
Mavericks (50-32) 114, Blazers (51-31) 98
Tyson Chandler put up 22 points and 15 rebounds, Dirk dropped a cool 16 and Monta Ellis contributed 15 points and 2 steals. LaMarcus Aldridge (19 points, 8 rebounds), Damian Lillard (17 points) and Tim Frazier (13 points, 10 assists) were bright spots for Portland in its 31st loss of the season. The seventh-seeded Mavericks will face two-seeded Houston on Saturday night in round one.
Rockets (56-26) 117, Jazz (38-44) 91
The Rockets clinched the two seed in the Western Conference behind James Harden’s 16-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. He put up those numbers in just three quarters of play. Terrence Jones added 15 points and 3 blocks, and Dwight Howard finished with 14 points and 8 boards. H-Town will take on Dirk and the Mavs in round one of the playoffs. Utah’s season is over, and Trevor Booker once again had some choice words for former teammate Enes Kanter. Cold-blooded, Trevor:
Wouldn’t go to war with any other guys! Helluva season Jazz Nation!!! And oh yeah, glad we didn’t lose to a non playoff team @Enes_Kanter
— Trevor Booker (@35_Fitz) April 16, 2015
Celtics (40-42) 105, Bucks (41-41) 100
Gigi Datome scored 22 points, Jonas Jerebko had 16 and 6, and Kelly Olynyk provided 16 and 5 as the Celtics edged the Bucks on Wednesday night. Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas sat out, as the game had no effect on either of these teams’ fates. Ersan Ilyasova (21 points, 5 rebounds), Khris Middleton (18 points) and OJ Mayo (16 points, 5 rebounds) did the most damage on the losing side. Olynyk took an elbow to the face and required five stitches to close a nasty gash.
Seventh-seeded Boston won six straight games to close out the season and will face the second-seeded Cavs in round one. Big ups to head coach Brad Stevens for doing a terrific job without much in the way of talent.
Thunder (45-37) 138, Timberwolves (16-66) 113
Russell Westbrook had a ridiculous season, but it wasn’t enough to lift the injury-depleted Thunder to the post-season. Despite smashing the T-Wolves last night, OKC will not make the playoffs, as the Pelicans took care of business at home against the Spurs. Westbrook scored 34 points in the first half last night and finished with 37. He also had 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals, all in just 34 minutes of work.
Dion Waiters put up a whopping 33 to go with 3 steals. Enes Kanter had himself a game as well, putting up 25 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. He’s been a delight for Scott Brooks’ team since coming over from Utah. Andrew Wiggins (my pick for Rookie of the Year) scored 23 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and swatted 2 blocks. Kevin Martin dropped 29 points and Zach LaVine had 19 points and 13 (!) assists. The T-Wolves finish with the worst record in the L. Russ is this season’s scoring champion with a final average of 28.1 points per game. Here’s what he had to say when asked what the scoring title means:
Russell Westbrook’s full quote on what the scoring title means to him: pic.twitter.com/aiHOragF2h — Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 16, 2015
Sidenote, do you guys think Scott Brooks is done as head coach in OKC?
Pelicans (45-37) 108, Spurs (55-27) 103
Playoff Brow is upon us.
Anthony Davis took matters into his own hands last night to secure the eighth spot in the West. AD posted 31 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals to beat the Spurs. With the loss, San Antonio gets pushed back to the sixth seed. Crazy to think that they were just in the second spot.
Davis drained big buckets and came up with huge blocks down the stretch to clinch the win. Tyreke Evans double-doubled for 19 and 11 to take a little bit of the weight off the future MVP’s shoulders. Tony Parker was tremendous — he finished with 23 and 6 and looked like he might ruin NOLA’s playoff chances. Tim Duncan posted 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while Boris Diaw had 20 points and 5 assists. The Pels are in the playoffs thanks to their tiebreaker over the Thunder. Remember AD’s insane three-point buzzer beater in that matchup?
Round one: Spurs-Clippers, Pelicans-Warriors. Woo!
Nets (38-44) 101, Magic (25-57) 88
The Nets are in.
Brooklyn beat Orlando last night and got some help when Memphis defeated Indiana. BK will face top-seeded Atlanta in round one — most likely a sweep — but hey, at least they’re in.
Bojan Bogdanovic shot 12-17 from the field for 28 points, Thaddeus Young posted 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals, and Joe Johnson had himself a game with 16 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds. Brook Lopez added 14 points, 7 boards and 4 steals. Nikola Vucevic AKA the double-double machine went for 26 and 11 in the loss. Andrew Nicholson put up 18 and 9 and Victor Oladipo had 19. Orlando’s season is over.
Pistons (32-50) 112, Knicks (17-65) 90
Detroit bested the Knicks in this matchup of two lottery-bound teams. Reggie Jackson had 24 points, 11 assists, 3 steals and one nasty dunk — peep below. It’ll be interesting to see how he meshes with Brandon Jennings next season. Andre Drummond (17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17 points, 5 rebounds) chipped in as well. What moves will the Pistons make this summer? Will they go after Draymond Green (I don’t think Golden State is going to let him go)? Is Greg Monroe gone, possibly to New York? As for the Knicks, it’s only up from here — can’t get much worse than they were in ’14-’15.
Heat (37-45) 105, Sixers (18-64) 101
Four Miami starters (Michael Beasley, Henry Walker, James Ennis and Tyler Johnson) played all 48 minutes apiece. The final starter, Zoran Dragic, played 41. What a strange game.
Neither team truly wanted to win. The Heat’s top-10 protected first-round pick was at stake; had it not been for the Nets winning last night as well, the Miami win would’ve tremendously increased Philly’s odds of getting the Heat pick. In essence, the Sixers out-tanked the Heat, but Brooklyn saved Miami’s butt by defeating Orlando.
Beasley posted 34 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks as Miami “beat” Philadelphia. Zoran had 22 points and 2 steals, Walker dropped 21, and Ennis put up 17 points, 12 boards and 6 assists.
Grizzlies (55-27) 95, Pacers (38-44) 83
Memphis’ gruesome twosome of Marc Gasol (33 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals) and Zach Randolph (18 points, 9 rebounds) dominated inside, and the Grizzlies beat the Pacers to lock down the fifth spot in the West. Meanwhile, Indiana is out of the playoffs after winning six straight games to potentially sneak in at the very end. There was a sense of fatigue for the Pacers in the second half, which makes sense coming off a double-overtime win over Washington on Tuesday night. Paul George exited in the fourth quarter with a sore left calf — nothing serious, but scary nonetheless. CJ Miles (26 points) and George Hill (20 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) led the way for the losing squad.
Warriors (67-15) 133, Nuggets (30-52) 126
The Warriors finished with their best regular season in franchise history at 67-15.
It was a magic carpet ride of a season led by potential league MVP Stephen Curry. Starters rested most of the way Wednesday night. Klay Thompson (25 points) and Marreese Speights (17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals) contributed greatly to Golden State’s final win of the regular season. Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler each dropped 18 in the loss, while Jusuf Nurkic and Erick Green dropped 17 apiece. Denver’s season is over, while GSW will take on the Pelicans in round one of the post-season starting this upcoming weekend. The Warriors had a 3-1 record against New Orleans during the regular season, but they lost the most recent tilt in a thriller.
Kings (29-53) 122, Lakers (21-61) 99
Just be happy it’s over, LA.
The Lakers finished up their worst season in franchise history at 21-61. The Kings had a crappy year as well, but at least they found a bit of solace by winning the final game of the regular season. Ben McLemore scored 24 points and dished out 7 dimes, Derrick Williams posted 22 points and 6 rebounds and Ray McCallum had 19 to go with 6 assists. The Lakers boasted a weird lineup as Vander Blue and Jabari Brown each played the full 48 minutes. Brown went for 32 in said amount of time, whiel Blue shot 6-23 for 15 points. Let’s all be thankful we don’t have to watch this exact version of the Lakers have to play ever again.
