Nba championship running out and first verdicts in view of the playoffs of the play ins.
In the round played tonight the Spurs, despite being defeated 102-98 by the New York Knicks, still won the right to play the play in, because the Sacramento Kings, competitor for the last useful place in the west, were not able to have the better of the Grizzlies and they lost 116-110.
In case of victory they would have overtaken the Texans, but it went badly and for the 15th consecutive year their season ends in the regular season.
In the east there is more tussle and there is still room for ranking adjustments: the Chicago Bulls, currently 11th, continue to hope. Tonight they beat the Raptors 114-102 and took a big step forward, only two lengths from the Wizards and three from Indiana and Hornets, both defeated by the Bucks (142-133) and the Clippers (103-90) respectively.
In the upper areas, in the east, almost everything is decided for the playoffs, but leaders Philadelphia have made a false step, losing 106-94 to Miami. In the West it's a three-way fight for the last two places, between Dallas, Portland and the Lakers. Tonight Portland was knocked out from the challenge with the Suns for 118-117, leaving a gap for the Californian champions in charge for possible overtaking.
