WHAT MATTERED MOST

A subjective ranking of the results that mattered most to the playoff bracket.

1. Atlanta Hawks 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 100

Just when we thought the Cavs had turned a corner, they go and lose comfortably to a ragtag roster full of resting regulars. The Hawks sat Dennis Schröder, Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap, and Kent Bazemore (several of whom are recovering from injury) on the second night of a back-to-back despite not yet having locked down a playoff berth and ended up not needing any of them. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the way with 22 points, but this was a team effort. Atlanta shot 50.6 percent from the field, assisted on 38 of their 45 field goals, and outscored the Cavs 31-22 in the fourth to ensure there would not be a comeback.

It’s hard to know what to make of Cleveland after this loss. Their offense was mostly fine (despite 9-of-36 shooting from outside), and LeBron James finished with 27 points (12-of-15 FG), eight rebounds, and seven assists in 41 minutes. Only Kevin Love was truly bad (6-of-17 FG), and the Cavs are usually able to withstand such performances from one star. As usual, the defense was the issue.

The good news for the Cavs is that the lead for the No. 1 seed still stands at one game with just three games left to play for both them and the Boston Celtics. Head coach Ty Lue has said that LeBron and Kyrie Irving will continue to play until Cleveland clinches the top seed, which could come as soon as Sunday’s rematch against the Hawks in Atlanta. The magic number is now two, so a Celtics loss at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday would give the defending champions a chance to win and get that much-desired rest time.

Atlanta’s surprising road win makes their lead for the No. 5 spot a full game over the Milwaukee Bucks, a team they also defeated 3-1 in the season series to grab the tiebreaker. After a very rough stretch without Paul Millsap, the Hawks now look in line to clinch a playoff berth this weekend and perhaps lock down their seed.

2. Toronto Raptors 96, Miami Heat 94

Neither team won over any neutrals in this one, an offensive struggle in which both sides shot worse than 42 percent from the field with fewer than 10 made threes. The Heat had an especially rough go of things — they turned it over 19 times with only 16 assists.

The Raptors were lucky enough to have DeMar DeRozan to cover for everyone else’s difficulties. He scored 38 points (14-of-32 FG, 10-of-11 FT) for his 31st 30-plus game of the season, breaking Vince Carter’s franchise record. It was otherwise a tough night for Toronto, which did not see Kyle Lowry continue the excellent form he showed in his first game back from wrist surgery. The star point guard put up 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and turned it over five times.

The flipside of Toronto’s ugly win is that, well, they won, which is always a positive. The Raptors now lead the Washington Wizards by one game in the race for the No. 3 seed and hold the tiebreaker, which means their magic number to lock down the spot is two. Toronto also now has an outside shot to catch the Celtics for the No. 2 seed, although it may be too much to make up 1 1/2 games with only two of their own left to play (even with a tiebreaker already won).

The Heat are now in the unenviable position of potentially missing out on the playoffs despite holding one of the NBA’s best records since the All-Star break. Miami is now a game back of both the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers in the race for the East’s final two playoff spots, but for purposes of practicality they’re probably better left focusing on catching the latter. Chicago holds a tiebreaker over each opponent, including in a three-way tie, but Miami would win a tiebreaker against Indiana. Unfortunately, the Heat’s remaining schedule — two against the Wizards sandwiching a matchup with the Cavs — could preclude them from grabbing the wins necessary to get in. They’re certainly going to have to earn it.

3. Denver Nuggets 122, New Orleans Pelicans 106

A Denver loss would have lowered Portland’s magic number to clinch the West’s final playoff spot to just one, and a mere 51-50 halftime lead made that seem like a real possibility. But the Nuggets dominated the third with a 41-24 third quarter and held on throughout the fourth to grab a must-win game. Nikola Jokic was terrific with 23 points (9-of-13 FG), 12 rebounds, and five assists, and rookie guard Jamal Murray added 30 points (10-of-14 FG). Their top-five offense continues to hum along — they shot 55.1 percent from the field with eight players scoring at least seven points.

It’s still going to take a lot for them to finish ahead of the Blazers. Denver finishes with two games against Oklahoma City and has to travel to Dallas for what could be Dirk Nowitzki’s final home game. Those will all be tough ones, and even one loss would open a significant opportunity for Portland. They don’t have it especially easy either — Utah, San Antonio, and New Orleans are left — but they don’t have to leave Moda Center and can probably depend on pulling out at least one game at home.

4. Utah Jazz 120, Minnesota Timberwolves 113

The Jazz trailed by as many as 11 and seemed in danger of losing to draw even with the Clippers, a result that would knock them back into the West’s No. 5 seed via a lost tiebreaker. Yet Utah adjusted to the faster pace of this game and dominated the third, taking that period 40-25 and holding on in the fourth to come away with the win. Gordon Hayward starred with 39 points on just 22 shots, but the offensive success went beyond his big night. The Jazz shot 60 percent from the field and made 14-of-25 threes to withstand 32 points from Karl-Anthony Towns and Minnesota’s 28-of-28 performance from the free-throw line.

Utah also saw the return of big man Derrick Favors, who had missed 14 games with a knee injury. He put up 13 points in 15 minutes and could be a meaningful factor once he becomes more comfortable in NBA action.

The Jazz have a tough remaining schedule — at Portland, at Golden State, vs. San Antonio — that could jeopardize their chances to hold home-court advantage in the first round. On the plus side, the Clippers don’t have it much easier — they play their last road game at the Spurs on Saturday and finish up at Staples Center with the Rockets and Kings.

5. Phoenix Suns 120, Oklahoma City Thunder 99

If you missed this one, you failed to see history. Russell Westbrook finished with eight assists to clinch a triple-double average for the season. He’s the second player in NBA history to do so, and he can pass Oscar Robertson for the single-season record with a triple-double in any of OKC’s final three games. MVP or not, Westbrook has had one of the greatest statistical seasons anyone will ever see.

On the other hand, the game didn’t exactly feel like a crowning moment for Westbrook. He committed five turnovers in the opening 10 minutes and missed his first 11 shots, all factors in Phoenix building a 23-point lead at the half. OKC made a few runs to gesture toward a comeback, but they were never able to keep the Suns from scoring. It was ugly enough that Westbrook and the Thunder completely gave up on the game with roughly four minutes left and focused instead on padding his assist stats to get The Big O’s record out of the way. The Suns started intentionally fouling to stop it, and Westbrook finally left the court in defeat with roughly 2:33 on the clock.

The loss doesn’t mean much to the Thunder. They can technically catch the Clippers for the West’s No. 5 seed, but it would take a perfect storm of three wins and three L.A. losses to do it. It looks all but certain that leading MVP candidates Westbrook and James Harden will match up in the first round. Sharpen your pencils — we all have narratives to write.

6. Memphis Grizzlies 101, New York Knicks 88

I regret to inform you that I made a mistake in Wednesday’s playoff picture post when I said the Grizzlies had been locked into the No. 7 seed. They were still capable of being caught by the Blazers at the time, which means they did not solidify their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs until they beat the Knicks on Friday. We regret the error.

Otherwise, this game had two big stories. The first was clear enough — Mike Conley returned from a one-game absence with an eye injury and 31 points on 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. He was the best player on the court and at least proved that he can dominate one of the league’s worst defenses.

The other story only really matters to gamblers. Memphis led 98-88 and held the ball with the shot clock turned off on the game’s final possession. However, rookie guard Wade Baldwin IV hoisted a three-pointer at the buzzer instead of dribbling out the clock to make it a 13-point game, which changed the fortunes of anyone who bet the 12.5-point spread.

Whoops!

7. Detroit Pistons 114, Houston Rockets 109

The Rockets have already locked down the No. 3 seed in the West, so the fact that they allowed the Pistons to win the fourth quarter 39-22 for a comeback win doesn’t mean much to their standing. However, it does technically keep hope alive for the Pistons, who would have been eliminated from contention with a loss. It’s just a matter of time before that occurs, but at least they’ll live another day. Stanley Johnson buried a tiebreaking three in the final 30 seconds to win it for the Pistons.

Otherwise, the internet should be happy to hear that Boban Marjanovic was the difference in the game. The fun-loving Serb scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting and brought smiles to the faces of children everywhere.

8. San Antonio Spurs 102, Dallas Mavericks 89

The Spurs came into the night already established as the West’s No. 2 seed and rested Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green to celebrate. The Mavericks countered by not playing anyone more than 30 minutes, which could be why Bryn Forbes (27 points) was able to lead San Antonio to its 61st win.

This is a photo of Bryn Forbes:

MVP OF THE DAY
A subjective choice for the player most valuable to his team, on just one day and determined by the NBA playoff picture.

It’s difficult to deny the performance of DeMar DeRozan, who toughed out 38 points in an ugly game to lift Toronto to a very meaningful win. DeRozan was up and down at times in the playoffs last season, but his consistent play throughout 2016-17 and excellent form with Kyle Lowry out for 21 games suggests that he may have taken a leap beyond his prior improvement. If Toronto keeps playing well through the end of the regular season, they may enter the postseason as a popular pick to return to the conference finals.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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