WHAT MATTERED MOST

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

1. Portland Trail Blazers 105, Minnesota Timberwolves 98

If the Blazers go on to clinch the West’s final playoff spot, this win and its fourth–quarter comeback could end up as one of the biggest reasons why. Portland struggled mightily to contain Karl-Anthony Towns (24 points and 16 rebounds) and Andrew Wiggins (36 points) over the first three quarters and trailed by as many as 15 in the third and by seven heading into the fourth. The absence of injured center Jusuf Nurkic continued to hurt the Blazers’ offensive versatility and interior capabilities, and it looked as if they’d head into the season’s final three games with a half-game lead on the Denver Nuggets and potentially dependent on the head-to-head tiebreaker they claimed last week.

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Then everything changed considerably in the final period. The Blazers scored 25 points thanks to some big plays from Damian Lillard (22 points, eight assists, nine rebounds) and a huge performance from Allen Crabbe (25 points on 8-of-10 3FG), and suddenly they have a chance to clinch a playoff berth (with some help) this weekend.

Outcome aside, the real story of the night was the Wolves’ offensive woes in the fourth. Minnesota missed its first 13 field goal attempts on its way to a 3-of-20 period, bad enough for a season-low 11 points. It takes a lot for a team with nothing to play for to lose in a disheartening fashion, but this one certainly qualifies for the Wolves. On the other hand, maybe everyone’s used to losing a game in which they held a double-digit lead when it happens for the 21st time.

Portland now leads Denver by 1 1/2 games with three of their own to play. The schedule is not especially easy — Utah, San Antonio, and New Orleans — but all three come at Moda Center. The Blazers’ magic number is now just two, and the Nuggets could very well lose two of their final four against the Pelicans, Thunder (twice), and Mavericks.

If the Blazers do make it, though, then they better hope Nurkic is able to return from his leg fracture on his previously stated two-week timetable. They’ve been fortunate to go 2-2 without him, and it’s difficult to imagine them putting up any fight against the NBA-best Golden State Warriors without a steady interior presence. If Nurkic can’t play at a high level, this playoff berth could end up being more cosmetic than meaningful.

2. Atlanta Hawks 123, Boston Celtics 116

It has not been a good two days for the Celtics. One night after getting blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers to fall back in the race for the East’s top seed, Boston traveled to the Highlight Factory and struggled to stick with an Atlanta squad that had lost nine of its last 11 and forced itself into clinging to a playoff berth that once seemed assured. Perhaps fatigued after Wednesday’s thumping at TD Garden, the Celtics fell into a 16-point halftime hole and appeared a step slow all night. They now trail the Cavs by 1 1/2 games (and a lost tiebreaker) and should probably focus on maintaining their two-game lead on the Raptors and Wizards for the No. 2 seed.

Really, though, this win was much more about how much better the Hawks look with All-Star forward Paul Millsap in the lineup. Millsap came off the bench again in his second game back from a knee injury but was clearly one of the best players on the floor, finishing with a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has already said that he won’t play on Friday against the Cavs, but the mere fact that he looked this good against a playoff team should bring fresh confidence to a group in need of it.

The victory also combined with the Bucks’ loss to put the Hawks up a half-game for the East’s No. 5 seed. That spot isn’t necessarily a great one with Cleveland looming in the next round to dole out an elimination for the third-straight season, but finishing fifth would be an accomplishment for Atlanta in what’s been an up-and-down season. The only problem is that their next two games come against those same Cavaliers.

3. Indiana Pacers 104, Milwaukee Bucks 89

It’s hard to imagine a better indicator of just how inconsistent the Pacers have been in 2017 than the fact that they entered Thursday having failed to win consecutive games since Feb. 4 and 6. (As a reminder: it is now April.)

Those wins capped a seven-game winning streak that pushed the Pacers to 29-22. They promptly followed that with a six-game losing streak to fall within one game of .500, then alternated wins and losses for nearly one full month before losing four straight to drop to 37-40. But after falling in double
overtime to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pacers got back on the good foot against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, giving them the chance to notch two straight victories for the first time in two months when they took on Giannis Antetokounmpo and company on Thursday.

We don’t know if we can safely say the Pacers have found consistency, but at least we now know, for the record, that they once again have the capacity to win back-to-back outings.

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Paul George led six Pacers in double-figures with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, four steals and an assist in 35 minutes. Thaddeus Young added a double-double, reserve big man Kevin Seraphin chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds in 22 1/2 minutes off the bench, and prodigal catalyst Lance Stephenson scored nine points with five assists in 23 minutes for the Pacers, who improved to 39-40 to take a half-game lead over the idle Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Indiana has the same record as the Chicago Bulls, but the Bulls hold the East’s No. 7 seed by virtue of having a superior record within the Central Division.

The Pacers took control midway through the second quarter, breaking a 38-all tie with a 10-0 run in which they snagged six steals in a 2 1/2-minute span:

The Bucks would stay within shouting distance, cutting the Indiana lead to 63-61 on an and-one layup by Antetokounmpo just under three minutes into the third quarter. But the Pacers would once again push Milwaukee away, ripping off a 13-0 run in just under three minutes of game time to go up by 15. The Bucks never really threatened after that, dropping their third straight to fall to 40-39, one back in the loss column behind the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, and one game ahead of seventh-place Chicago and eighth-place Indiana with three games left.

“We’ve got to be mindful of what [Miami and Chicago] are doing. We don’t really control our destiny, to an extent,” George said after the game. ”We’ve got to, again, rely on a little help with those [teams] losing games. Only thing we can do is give ourselves a fighting chance.”

If the Pacers can keep getting nine dudes to score at least six points apiece, keep forcing 21 turnovers that lead to 29 points, keep putting up plus-13 margins on second-chance points and keep limiting the opposition to just six points on fast breaks, they’ll have done their part. For now, though, baby steps: try to win a third straight game on Saturday night in Orlando.

4. Chicago Bulls 102, Philadelphia 76ers 90

A no-nonsense win against a surefire lottery team should be a prerequisite for playoff contention this time of year, but sadly plenty of teams do not always meet that low standard. The Bulls deserve some credit, then, for heading to Philly and handling the Sixers with relative ease. The offense never really got going, but a 10-point lead after one and a triple-double for Jimmy Butler (19 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) were enough to get the job done. Any win is a good one in the last week of the season.

This particular victory adds to the feeling that the Bulls will make the playoffs. At 39-40, they’re tied with the Miami Heat for seventh place and hold the tiebreaker in that matchup via a superior divisional record (9-7 over 8-8 with no games left to play). The Miami Heat sit only a half-game back of both teams, but the Bulls hold a tiebreaker over them via a 2-1 season series win and would win the three-way head-to-head tiebreaker. Chicago’s also lucky enough to play their last three games against the Brooklyn Nets (twice) and Orlando Magic, two of the five worst teams in the NBA.

Add in Dwyane Wade’s scheduled return from his elbow fracture this weekend, and it’s very difficult to imagine them losing their spot. The only question is if they can avoid the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

5. Washington Wizards 106, New York Knicks 103

The Wizards do not deserve gushing praise for winning a game in which they blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to the awful Knicks, needed a Bradley Beal corner 3 with 49 seconds left, and had to sweat out a potential game-tying triple by Carmelo Anthony with two ticks remaining. But when you’re scrapping for positioning and trying to get ready to make some postseason noise, every little bit helps, and it doesn’t have to be pretty to be effective.

Beal and backcourt partner John Wall combined for 49 points on 31 shots, including four 3-pointers apiece, for the Wiz, who improved to 48-31. While that’s the same record as the idle Toronto Raptors, the Raps hang onto the East’s No. 3 seed because they won their season series with Washington two games to one, giving them the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Marcin Gortat made all seven of his field-goal attempts to score 16 points in the win, and Otto Porter Jr. (seven points, nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, sound defense) each pitched in on the wing.

Backup Wizards point guard Brandon Jennings didn’t have his strongest game — four points on 1-for-5 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, a pair of turnovers, a minus-seven line in 19 1/2 minutes off the bench — but he did come away with a win over the team with whom he started the season, and he couldn’t help but notice the relative lack of atmosphere in the arena he briefly called home:

Well, yeah. A fourth straight losing season highlighted by the owner calling a franchise legend an alcoholic and a season-ticket holder an a*****e kind of takes the starch out of the old home-court advantage.

To move up to the No. 3 seed in the East — and thus postpone a meeting with the likely No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers until the conference finals — the Wizards will need to finish one game ahead of the Raptors in the standings. Washington finishes out the season with two games against the Miami Heat, split up by a road trip to Detroit, while Toronto wraps up with the Heat, Knicks and Cavs.

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.

Other players had bigger games than Paul Millsap on Thursday, but none played with such potential to change the course of the team’s season. The Hawks have been awful of late, and Millsap’s return in Sunday’s loss to the Nets didn’t exactly inspire hope that things would turn around. But three days off clearly helped him and the team as a whole, because the group that handled the Celtics looked like one with the potential to win a series and at least test a significant favorite in the second round. The team simply makes more sense with its star in the lineup — he links the offense and defense, covers holes at both ends, and generally makes life easier for the likes of Dennis Schröder and Tim Hardaway Jr. Atlanta certainly got Boston on the right night, but there’s still reason to feel better about what lies ahead in the next few weeks.

Dan Devine (@yourmandevine) also contributed to this post.

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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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