Sixers locked into third seed, will face Brooklyn Nets in first round with victory over Miami Heat
The Nets need one more victory or a loss by the Heat to clinch the sixth seed in NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.
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The 76ers are locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed for the upcoming playoffs. Their playoff picture is almost complete.
They will be assured of facing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round by defeating the Miami Heat Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Nets (44-36) need one more victory or a loss by the Heat (44-37) to clinch the sixth seed.
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Brooklyn hosts the Orlando Magic on Friday before playing against the Sixers in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
After facing the Sixers, Miami plays at the Washington Wizards on Friday and entertains the Magic (34-45) on Sunday.
The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the No. 1 seed in the East, the NBA’s best record, and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs by defeating the Chicago Bulls, 105-92, Wednesday night.
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The Boston Celtics clinched the East’s No. 2 seed with a 97-93 victory over the Toronto Raptors Wednesday, locking the Sixers (52-27) into the third seed.
The Sixers are 3-0 against Brooklyn this season. They defeated the Nets, 115-106, on Nov. 22 in what was Ben Simmons’ first time playing at the Wells Fargo Center after being traded to Brooklyn.
Then they outlasted Brooklyn, 137-133, at home on Jan. 25. Sixers point guard James Harden drained two huge three-pointers and a layup in the final four minutes to defeat his former teammate. And the Sixers beat the then new-look Nets, 101-98, on Feb. 11 at the Barclays Center.
That came after Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, Kevin Durant was sent to the Phoenix Suns and Ben Simmons was no longer in the Nets’ starting lineup.
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The Sixers are one victory shy of ensuring their best record since finishing 56-26 in 2000-01. The playoffs are set to begin April 15 following the play-in tournament.
The Sixers will make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. However, they’re looking to advance beyond the second round for the first time since 2001.
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