The Hawks, winners of the Southeast Division, will be the No. 5 seed in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
They knew this ahead of their 124-95 regular season finale over the Rockets Sunday night. The Knicks ended the regular season with a 96-92 win over the Celtics, securing the No. 4 seed and homecourt advantage in Round 1. The Heat will be the No. 6 seed.
This will be the Hawks’ first trip to the playoffs since the 2016 season.
“This team has done a really incredible job this season finding a way to fight and get back in the race and get into the playoffs, and finish at the fifth spot, and win the division,” interim coach Nate McMillan said. “I think it’s been an incredible season for these guys. They’ve found a way to have some success. The goal at the beginning of the season was to get into the playoffs and they’ve been able to do that. Now we have an opportunity to just see where we are once we get in there.”
In the regular season, the Knicks swept the Hawks in three matchups. Two of those losses came under former head coach Lloyd Pierce. In the final loss, Trae Young got hurt in the third quarter, with the Hawks up by six.
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