A playoff spot is not typically a great basketball achievement. Sixteen of the 30 teams in the NBA make it. In fact, 28 teams have made it in the past six seasons. But not the Knicks.
So you can forgive Knick fans for the roaring celebration on Sunday night, moments after the Knicks’ 123-107 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and as the Washington Wizards defeated Charlotte to eliminate the 9th-seeded Bobcats, with the video board at the Garden flashing “Knicks clinch!”
The Knicks clinched their first playoff berth since April 7, 2004. At 38-38, they could still finish with their first winning record since 2001, when they had a 48-34 mark. Though they have clinched a spot, the Knicks have not yet clinched the seventh spot—the Philadelphia 76ers, the six seed, are 40-37 while the eighth-seeded Indiana Pacers are 25-42.
Wall Street Journal
Strange, unsettling day for the Lakers, who haven’t had many lately.
They bored their fans for almost three hours, finally turned it up in the last minute, and finished with two limping starters and a 95-90 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Such events had been rare in these parts, the Lakers having recently thrilled their followers with a triple-overtime victory and a tough-guy mind-set that led to a healthy ovation for Matt Barnes at Staples Center when he entered Sunday’s game.
But the Lakers were out-shoved by the scrappy new-look Nuggets, and Lamar Odom was again the subject of a last-minute failure to box out.
LA Times
With the Los Angeles Lakers looming in their rearview mirror, the San Antonio Spurs halted their six-game skid in emphatic style Sunday with a 114-97 NBA victory over Phoenix.
George Hill scored 29 points in the rout, which ended a Spurs losing streak of almost a fortnight that saw the once-comfortable lead atop the Western Conference dwindle.
“Before the game, our three leaders spoke up and tried to say that everyone needs to hold themselves accountable,” said Hill, referring to the Spurs’ core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“It’s not about one person on this team, it’s about the whole team.”
Press Release
