NBA playoff picture: Sixers are in the process of winning the No. 3 seed

What a wild ride for Philadelphia.

We’d been hyping up Friday’s game between the Cavaliers and 76ers for weeks, and it didn’t disappoint. With both teams coming in hot and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs at stake, the Sixers blasted off to a 30-point in the second quarter and were up 23 at the half. But LeBron James led a monster comeback — this is what he does — to grant us crunch time. Philadelphia survived on Ben Simmons’ back to come away with the win and control of the No. 3 seed.

Philadelphia is at 49-30, Cleveland is now 49-31, and the Indiana Pacers — who lost badly to the Toronto Raptors — are 47-33. The Sixers can clinch the No. 3 seed by winning out. They play the Mavericks on Sunday, visit the Hawks on Tuesday, and host the Bucks on Wednesday. If the Sixers lose just one of those games and Cleveland wins their final two — a home-and-home against the Knicks on Monday and Wednesday — the Cavaliers will be the No. 3 seed. Because of that, this is likely to come down to that Sixers-Bucks game on Wednesday.

The Pacers aren’t 100% locked into No. 5 — there are weird scenarios where they could move up to Nos. 3 or 4 — but it’s pretty close.

Toronto’s win locked the Raptors into the No. 1 seed, and that means the Celtics will definitely be the No. 2 seed. Those teams have three games left and they can officially rest, if they would like to do so.

In the 3-team race at the bottom of the East bracket, only the Wizards were active on Friday. They lost to the Hawks. Awesome job, Washington. That leaves the Heat and Bucks virtually tied for No. 6 with 37 losses and the Wizards one back with 38. Miami has the tiebreaker over both, so they control their own destiny. (Given Philadelphia’s streak and Boston’s injury issues, it’s not clear that the No. 6 seed is preferred to the No. 7 seed.)

Here is the current East bracket. Asterisks indicate a team is locked into its seed.

Raptors (1)* vs. Wizards (8)
Cavaliers (4) vs. Pacers (5)
Sixers (3) vs. Heat (6)
Celtics (2)* vs. Bucks (7)

While Friday had mammoth ramifications in the East, it was quieter out West. The Pelicans trounced the Suns and the Timberwolves handled the Lakers in Jimmy Butler’s return. New Orleans, thus, stays tied with the Spurs and Thunder at 34 losses and Minnesota remains tied with Denver at 35 losses. The Wolves and the Nuggets have a game scheduled for Wednesday that could decide the No. 8 seed in the West.

The Pelicans are in good shape for now, but have a nasty little schedule remaining — Warriors, Clippers, Spurs. The Wolves have just the Grizzlies before that Denver showdown.

Here is the current West bracket. Asterisks indicate a team is locked into its seed.

Rockets (1)* vs. Timberwolves (8)
Jazz (4) vs. Pelicans (5)
Blazers (3) vs. Spurs (6)
Warriors (2)* vs. Thunder (7)

There’s a huge matinee on NBA TV: Nuggets-Clippers (3:30 p.m. ET). L.A. is eliminated from playoff contention with a loss, and Denver desperately needs to keep pace after Minnesota’s Friday win. In the East, the Bucks take on the Knicks (7:30 ET, League Pass).

The Saturday ABC primetime showdown is Thunder-Rockets (8:30 ET). Houston has nothing to play for but hasn’t really rested yet. Oklahoma City need two wins in its last three games to guarantee a playoff birth. The Pelicans get no rest, taking on the Warriors (8:30 ET, League Pass). We also have Blazers-Spurs (9 ET, League Pass). Portland can clinch no lower than No. 4 with a win, while the Spurs need two wins in their final three games to guarantee a playoff spot.

It kind of feels like the playoffs have already started.