BOSTON — The Celtics will have to wait at least until Monday to find out whether they’ll be playoff-bound.
Boston, which currently sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, would have clinched a playoff spot with an Indiana Pacers loss Sunday night. The Pacers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-104, however keeping the Celtics’ magic number to clinch at one.
Russell Westbrook finished with 54 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder in a losing effort.
The Celtics’ next chance to lock down a spot will come Monday, when the eighth-place Brooklyn Nets host the Chicago Bulls. If the Nets lose either of their final two games, Boston would clinch the No. 7 seed and play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round.
Another way for the Celtics, who knocked off a shorthanded Cavs team 117-78 on Sunday, to clinch would be for them to win either of their two remaining games: Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors or Wednesday at the Milwaukee Bucks.
For the Celtics to miss the playoffs, they would have to lose both of those games, and the Pacers and Nets both would need to win out.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
