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The Atlanta Hawks secured a spot in the NBA play-offs and the Southeast Division title with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Hawks, who only needed to win one of their remaining two games to guarantee a top-six finish in the Eastern Conference, blew away the already qualified Cavaliers in the third quarter, scoring 35 points to extend their 61-48 half-time lead to 96-65.<\/p>\n
Guard CJ McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who clinched their first divisional crown since 2021 and avoided having to come through the play-in tournament, for teams finishing seventh to tenth in each conference, for the first time in five seasons.<\/p>\n
Veteran LeBron James became the fourth player in NBA history to record 12,000 career assists as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers secure home-court advantage in the first round of the play-offs with a 101-73 win against the Phoenix Suns.<\/p>\n
James made 12 assists in addition to 28 points and six rebounds as the Lakers recorded their 15th win in 19 games to guarantee a top-four finish in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n
Former Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton is the NBA’s career assist leader, with 15,806, with Chris Paul (12,552) and Jason Kidd (12,091) also ahead of James (12,010).<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference with an emphatic 144-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.<\/p>\n
The 18-time NBA champions scored a record-equalling 29 three-pointers, forward Sam Hauser leading the way with eight, as they wrapped up the Atlantic Division title.<\/p>\n
That result means the New York Knicks, who beat the Celtics in their previous match, will have to settle for being third seeds despite beating the Toronto Raptors 112-95. <\/p>\n
The Raptors slipped down to sixth place following the defeat, with an identical record (45-36) to seventh-placed Orlando Magic with one match to play in the regular season. The Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 127-103 to extend their winning streak to five matches.<\/p>\n
Victor Wembanyama, returning from a one-game injury absence, starred for Western Conference second seeds San Antonio Spurs in their 139-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The 22-year-old Most Valuable Player contender made 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.<\/p>\n
The Denver Nuggets remain in the hunt for third place in the Western Conference after beating reigning champions and top seeds Oklahoma City Thunder 127-107. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n