The final night of the 2018-19 regular season is complete, and so too is the playoff picture. After the Nets, Magic and Pistons won Wednesday night, the first-round Eastern Conference matchups are set and as follows:
- No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 8 Detroit
- No. 2 Toronto vs. No. 7 Orlando
- No. 3 Philadelphia vs. No. 6 Brooklyn
- No. 4 Boston vs. No. 5 Indiana
Some of the West's playoff picture was cleared up with the early results as well, as wins by the Thunder and Spurs settled some open spots. Oklahoma City locked itself into the No. 6 seed, while the Spurs are No. 7 and the Clippers got No. 8.
There were still some playoff seeds to be determined in the late games, however, which decided the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds. The Rockets were idle, so there was nothing they could do but watch. And what a dramatic few hours it was. With the Nuggets and Trail Blazers each down big to enter the fourth, the Rockets were within grasp of the No. 2 seed. But by the time the final buzzers sounded, they finished in fourth after big comebacks by Denver and Portland.
Here are the final Western Conference matchups:
- No. 1 Golden State vs. No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers
- No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 San Antonio
- No. 3 Portland vs. No. 6 Oklahoma City
- No. 4 Houston vs. No. 5 Utah
NOTE: The full NBA rules for tiebreakers can be found here, but this is what you need to know: When two teams are tied, the first tiebreaker is the head-to-head season series. If they split the series, then it matters whether you won your division and, if you're tied with a team in your division, how you fared against other teams in your division, which is silly because divisions are silly. If you didn't win your division and you are tied with a team that isn't in your division, then the next tiebreaker is conference record. Complicated, I know.
