The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the middle of a tight race for the third-best odds in the NBA draft lottery.
During their day off on Wednesday, the Thunder gained a little bit of breathing room.
The Cleveland Cavaliers took down the Boston Celtics 102-94, putting them a full game behind the Thunder in the reverse standings.
This ended an 11-game Cleveland losing streak. It was their first win since April 21.
The Celtics have been in a tailspin, losing four games in a row, including two to the Miami Heat in a back-to-back that allowed Miami to jump out of play-in contention and stuck Boston in the seventh seed. Jaylen Brown’s injury devastated any hopes they had of finding their rhythm, and the loss to the Cavaliers was icing on the cake.
From the vantage point of the Cavaliers’ front office, this was not ideal. If they had lost, Cleveland would have been tied for third place with the Thunder once again; instead, they are now in fifth, half a game behind the Orlando Magic and a full game behind OKC.
The Thunder need to continue losing games, because even if the Cavs are now back a full game, the Magic are still right on their tail and have a chance to pull into a tie with OKC on Thursday.
Here is a quick rundown of the 2 through 6 spots:
- 2. Detroit Pistons: 1.0 games over Thunder
- 3. Oklahoma City Thunder
- 4. Orlando Magic: 0.5 games behind Thunder
- 5. Cleveland Cavaliers: 1.0 games behind Thunder
- 6. Minnesota Timberwolves: 1.5 games behind Thunder
Oklahoma City will face the Utah Jazz on Friday and the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday to close out the season.
The Magic play the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday with a chance to move into a tie for third place with the Thunder. Orlando closes out the season with two games against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Detroit has a game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday and the Miami Heat on Sunday.
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