What NBA games are on today, Friday, 8 April?
There are nine NBA games on Friday for fans to enjoy as many teams play their penultimate game of the regular season
With the post-season picture clear for the 2021-22 NBA season, many teams are winding down and looking forward to a break with others revving up for a tilt at the championship.
The major talking point in this final stretch of the campaign has invariably being the LA Lakers failure to miss out on a possible play-in spot as they fell to high flying Phoenix Suns last Tuesday. Their absence will see LeBron James miss the playoffs for only the fourth time in his 19-year career, in which he has played in 10 NBA Finals and won four titles.
Friday sees nine games scheduled with many teams playing their penultimate match of the regular season with the curtain coming down on the 82 regular season game on Sunday.
Friday’s NBA games:
Bucks @ Pistons: 7 pm start (ET)
The Bucks are on the road for their final two games of the regular season and head to Michigan on Friday night before Sunday’s regular season finale in Cleveland.
The reigning NBA champions go into the games buoyed after a confidence boosting win over Boston as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday each scored 29 points in the win, while the former also added 11 rebounds and five assists. Khris Middleton was close to a triple-double with 22 points on nine-of-18 shooting, along with eight rebounds and nine assists.
On the second night of a back-to-back after their win in Chicago, the Celtics rested Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, and only just lost on the road against a fellow contender in the East.
Marcus Smart shot seven-of-12 from beyond the arc and was the Celtics’ leading scorer with a season-high 29 points. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown came up with a triple-double of 22 points, a career-high 11 assists, along with 10 rebounds.
With the win, however, the Bucks moved past the Celtics into second spot in the East, effectively clinching home court for Miami in the playoffs.
Rockets @ Raptors: 7:30 pm start (ET)
The Scotiabank Arena in Toronto hosts another of tonight’s attractive match-ups as the Hawks prepare for their play-in activity with a trip to face the Raptors who are fifth in the East.
In-form Pascal Siakam put up a triple-double in the Toronto Raptors’ 119-114 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night with Philly’s Matisse Thybulle missing the game causing speculation over whether he is vaccinated against coronavirus, with unvaccinated foreign nationals prohibited from entering Canada.
Siakam’s consequent ability to get into the paint counteracted his one-of-seven from the perimeter, putting up 37 points on 14-of-28 shooting, along with 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
Other Friday NBA games:
Knicks @ Wizards: 7pm start (ET)
Cavs @ Nets: 7:30 pm start (ET)
Hawks @ Heat: 8pm start (ET)
Hornets @ Bulls: 8pm start (ET)
Trail Blazers @ Mavericks: 8:30 pm start (ET)
Suns @ Jazz: 9:30 pm start (ET)
Thunder at Lakers: 10:30 pm start (ET)