PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 06: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers attempts a shot as Kevin Love #42 of the Miami Heat defends during the first half of a game at Wells Fargo Center on April 6, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Heat defeated PHILADELPHIA - The Eastern Conference play-in tournament matchups are set, as are the top four seeds in the Western Conference.Also apparently decided: The NBA’s scoring race.Brooklyn sealed the No.
6 seed in the East on Friday night, which locked Miami into No. 7 and the play-in tournament. The Nets will play Philadelphia in Round 1 of the playoffs — meaning Brooklyn will be up against a soon-to-be two-time scoring champion.Philadelphia center Joel Embiid — he didn’t play in Friday's overtime win over Atlanta and there’s no need for him to in the 76ers’ regular-season finale on Sunday, either — will almost certainly finish the season averaging 33.1 points.The only player who had a realistic chance entering Friday to catch him was Dallas’ Luka Doncic.
But he played sparingly Friday, changed into street clothes at halftime of the Mavericks' loss to Chicago — one that eliminated Dallas from postseason contention and assured Oklahoma City the No.