Starting 5, March 15: Celtics wrap up playoff berth

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Happy Friday, Starting 5 fam. You made it.

The Boston Celtics did too, becoming the season’s first squad to clinch a playoff berth.

Now, with less than a month left in the regular season, 11 more guaranteed spots await.

Here’s how things look heading into the weekend.

THE LINEUP

  1. Celtics punch ticket as Jays shine
  2. Thunder tied atop West (again)
  3. Roundup: Bucks rally, move to 2nd
  4. Durant closing in on 8th in scoring
  5. Jokic vs. Wemby

Today … Suns-Hornets (7 ET) and Hawks-Jazz (9:30 ET) headline an NBA TV doubleheader, with Kevin Durant just 33 points from 8th on the all-time scoring list.

Nuggets-Spurs (8:30 ET, NBA App) pits two game-changing big men together, while Clippers-Pelicans (8 ET, NBA App) stages a potential first-round matchup between the West’s 4th & 5th teams – with a special HooperVision broadcast.

1. TATUM & BROWN TAKE OVER AS CELTICS CLINCH

Jaylen Brown burns the Suns for 37 points to help the Celtics win 127-112 and clinch a playoff berth.

In a game that showcased some of the greatest scorers of their generation, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (26 pts) and Jaylen Brown (37 pts) stole the spotlight, combining for 63 points to drop the Suns, 127-112, and punch the first ticket to the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

  • Two-man game: Tatum starred early, putting up 14 in the first quarter in a duel with Kevin Durant (15 in the 1st). Then, as Tatum helped to keep KD to just five points the rest of the way, Brown hung 15 on Phoenix in the 2nd Q and 17 more in the second half
  • When they score 60: The Celtics improved to 44-9 (.830) all-time in the regular season when Brown and Tatum combine for 60+ points
  • Brown on his growth: “[I] just attacked my weaknesses. I feel like some of the things you said about me last year you can’t say about me this year.”
  • 25 3s: Boston hit a season-high 25 treys – including 3+ from the entire starting lineup – and shot 50% from beyond the arc. The barrage gave the Celtics, who beat the Suns last week, 40 3-pointers across their last two W’s against Phoenix

First to clinch: The Celtics, who leave Thursday up 10 games in the East, last clinched a playoff spot on Mar. 14 or earlier four years ago, when they locked up a spot on Mar. 10, 2020.

  • Playoff Race (No. 1 BOS ↔️): Boston has led the East for all but six days this season, and hasn’t dropped below first since Nov. 14
  • Playoff Race (No. 7 PHX ↔️): The Suns briefly fell to 8th after the loss, but finished the night in 7th after the Mavs lost to the Thunder

2. THUNDER TIED ATOP THE WEST (AGAIN)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 31 points, leading Oklahoma City past Dallas 126-119 and back atop the West standings.

How close has the Western Conference been this year?

The Thunder, who moved back into a tie for first place after Thursday’s 126-119 win over the Mavs, have held sole possession of first for just six days this year.

But they’ve been tied for it, or within 1 game of it, for 77 of the season’s 143 days.

  • SGA led the way with 31 points – his league-leading 49th game of 30+ – with 8 of those coming in the game’s final minutes, as the Thunder held off the hard-charging Mavs | Recap
  • Duel with Kyrie: Playing without Luka Doncic, Dallas hung with the Thunder all game largely thanks to 36 points on 12-of-18 shooting from Kyrie – including this levitating circus shot late in the fourth
  • JDub’s punctuation marks: Jalen Williams got himself 3 big highlights, starting with this chasedown on a Derrick Jones Jr. dunk attempt … then this chasedown on Kyrie … then a monster dunk (and celly) to put the game away late

Dallas saw Daniel Gafford’s consecutive-make streak end at 33, just two shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time NBA record.

  • Playoff Race (No. 1 OKC ⬆️): The Thunder improved to 46-20, tying the Nuggets for the best record in the West and taking the top spot due to tiebreaker
  • Playoff Race (No. 8 DAL ↔️): Dallas now sits a half-game behind seventh-place Phoenix 

3. ROUNDUP: BUCKS RALLY TO BEAT PHILLY, JUMP TO 2ND

Down double digits, Bucks take over: Reeling after a 1-3 West Coast swing, the Bucks found themselves down 10 in the second quarter, then five with 10:22 left in the fourth. From that point on, Milwaukee went on a 32-18 run – powered by 13 of Giannis’ 32 – to beat the Sixers, 114-105. | Recap

  • Tyrese Maxey dropped 30 in the loss, his 18th 30+ pt game of the season after crossing 30 just seven times last year
  • This clutch Brook Lopez block helped preserve the win for Milwaukee
  • Playoff Race (No. 2 MIL ⬆️): The win sent the Bucks to a half-game lead over the Cavs in 2nd
  • Playoff Race (No. 7 PHI ⬇️): Philly fell into Play-In territory, going from 6th at the start of the night to 7th, a half-game behind the Pacers

PG nearly perfect in win: After Clippers coach Ty Lue preached urgency for his LA squad, Paul George (28 pts on 11-of-12 shooting) and Kawhi Leonard (27) combined for 55 points to send LA over the Bulls 126-111. | Recap

  • How Good Was PG? Thursday marked the first time in his entire career he’d scored 25+ points while shooting 90% or better
  • Playoff Race (No. 4 LAC ↔️): The Clips have room on both sides, 2.5 games behind the third-place Wolves and 3 in front of the fifth-place Pels (who they play tonight)
  • Playoff Race (No. 9 CHI ↔️): The Bulls stayed in ninth, two games ahead of the Hawks

Jalen Green goes off for a season-high 37 points in the dominant Rockets' win over the Wizards.

Green’s season-high boosts Rockets: Over the first three months of the regular season, Jalen Green put up 30+ points just twice. Coming off a season-high 37 in the Rockets’ 135-119 win over the Wizards, the third-year rising star has now done it seven times over the past 6-plus weeks. He shot 65% from the field in the win. | Recap | Green’s Best Work

  • Three of those points came from this anklebreaker. Now watch it again from this angle.
  • Playoff Race (No. 11 HOU ↔️): The Rockets held tight at 11th, moving half a game closer to the Warriors for the final Play-In Spot

Brunson gets Knicks past Blazers: Jalen Brunson put up 12 first-quarter points and never looked back, going for a game-high 45 points to send the Knicks over the Blazers, 105-93. | Recap

  • How, Jalen?? Watch Brunson weave through the defense & hit this circus floater
  • Playoff Race (No. 4 NYK ↔️): New York moved a full game ahead of Orlando in fourth place

4. DURANT CLIMBING ALL-TIME SCORING LADDER

Kevin Durant enters tonight’s game against the Hornets (7 ET, NBA TV) needing 33 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

It’s the latest move in a steady climb up the ranks for Durant.

  • 2022-23 Season: KD ranked 21st all-time when he began the season in Brooklyn. By the time he ended the season in Phoenix, he had passed Alex English, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Dominique Wilkins and Oscar Robertson to reach 13th place
  • 2023-24 Season: KD’s first full season with the Suns has seen him pass Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone and Carmelo Anthony to reach ninth place, with one more legend to pass – the Big Shaqtus

As incredible as Durant’s ascent up the career scoring list has been to watch, it does not come as a surprise. KD has been getting buckets since the day he stepped on an NBA court in Seattle at 19 years old.

Durant averaged 20.3 points in 2007-08 on his way to winning Rookie of the Year honors. Similar to all-time leading scorer LeBron James, that is the only season in which Durant averaged fewer than 25 points per game.

He’s won four scoring titles along the way, but the key to Durant being on the precipice of becoming a top eight scorer of all-time is his consistency.

The only thing that ever slowed Durant’s climb were injuries. His scoring average not only didn’t fall off, it’s returned close to his peak levels over the past three seasons – all following an Achilles tear.

The KD scoring resume is a lot like that shot chart above … stacked.

  • 9,808 field goals made (17th all-time)
  • 1,995 3-pointers made (16th all-time)
  • 6,953 free throws made (10th all-time)

What makes Durant special as a scorer is that he isn’t a specialist. He doesn’t dominate one phase of scoring:

  • 16 players have made more buckets
  • 15 players have made more 3s
  • 9 players have made more free throws

Instead, his combination in all aspects of scoring is what makes him stand out.

Durant can beat you off the dribble and finish at the basket (3,059 FGM in the restricted area), he can pull up inside the paint (1,526 FGM outside the restricted area) and he’s a master in the midrange (3,228 FGM – the most of any zone on the court).

He’s a career 38.7% 3-point shooter, so you have to respect the deep ball, which puts defenders in a bind. Play him tight to take away the 3 and he’ll get past you and dissect the defense from inside the arc. Play off of him and watch him rain 3s.

A true three-level scorer, Durant’s ability to get buckets from any spot on the court has him on the verge of becoming the eighth greatest scorer ever.

5. JOKIC VS. WEMBY: REVOLUTIONARY BIG MEN

Centers have typically dominated the rebounds and blocks leaderboards, but Nikola Jokic has crashed the guard-heavy party on the assist leaderboard, where he ranks fourth in the league at 9.2 dimes per game – a mark that is actually down from his career-high 9.8 last season.

Jokic not only can create points for himself (26 ppg, 13th in NBA), he’s a master at setting up his teammates for open 3s, layups and dunks. His 6.9 career assist average leads all centers and ranks 35th all-time. When it comes to totals, he’s well on his way to passing Wilt and Kareem.

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 5,660 assists in 1,560 games (3.6 apg)
  • Wilt Chamberlain: 4,643 assists in 1,045 games (4.4 apg)
  • Nikola Jokic: 4,545 assists in 660 games (6.9 apg

From the basic to the spectacular, Jokic has every pass in his bag of dimes. Here are a few examples:

Victor Wembanyama enters tonight’s matchup with 197 blocks and 99 3-pointers made. With three more blocks and one more 3, he’ll become the second player in league history (joining Raef LaFrentz in 2001-02) to record 200+ blocks and 100+ 3s in a season.

  • Last month, Wemby became the first NBA player in five years (and only the 15th ever) to post a 5×5 game, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks in 30:55 minutes
  • Wemby became the youngest with a 5×5 game and did so in the fewest minutes ever, showing off his unique skill set of guard-like handles and long-range shooting with center-like rim protection and finishing around the basket … although he does that with his own unique style 

In his first 58 NBA games, Wemby has already shown the limitless potential of his game and how he defies what a traditional 7-foot-4 center can do. Here are a few examples:

Which center will put their jaw-dropping skill sets on display tonight? Find out when the Nuggets visit the Spurs (8:30 ET, NBA TV).