Hawks Defeat Cavaliers To Clinch Play-off Spot As James Passes Milestone

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference with an emphatic 144-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.