NBA Play-in tournament: Dominant Hawks send Hornets crashing out

The NBA Play-in tournament continued with matches between the ninth and tenth seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.

In the East, the Charlotte Hornets fell in the NBA Play-in tournament for a second season running following a defeat to the Atlanta Hawks. Last year’s Eastern Conference finalists, Atlanta Hawks, delivered an outstanding performance against the Hornets to claim a 132-103 win.

Trae Young, who led the league in regular season points and assists, had a slow start to the game before he burst into life. He finished the game with 24 points and 11 assists. De’Andre Hunter also contributed 22 points for the Hawks, who have now booked a date with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the eighth seed in the East. The Cavaliers lost to the Brooklyn Nets in the first play-in game. LaMelo Ball scored 26 points for the Hornets in their loss.

The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Play-in tournament to send the Spurs crashing out of contention for the playoffs. The game ended 113-103 in favour of the Pelicans, who were playing their first post-season game since 2018.

CJ McCollum led the scoring for the Pelicans with 32 points, and Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas scored 27 and 22 points, respectively. The Pelicans will travel to the Los Angeles Clippers for their next play-in game to determine who ends up as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.