Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
A refreshed Dyson Daniels will spearhead the Aussie charge in the NBA playoffs as his Atlanta Hawks eye off a first-round post-season clash with the New York Knicks.
With their first playoff berth since 2023 secured, the Hawks rested their entire starting line-up, plus three reserves, from their clash with Miami on Sunday (Monday AEST).
Star defender Daniels and countryman Jock Landale were among those missing from the 143-117 defeat.
Daniels was listed with a toe injury but isn’t in any doubt for the post-season, but centre Landale remains under a cloud after suffering an ankle sprain following a flagrant foul by Orlando’s Goga Bitadze at the start of the month.
“The focus for us is to get into the post-season healthy,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.
Starting the day in the running to finish fifth in the Eastern Conference, Toronto sealed that position and a match-up with No.4 Cleveland, with the playoffs to get under way on April 18 (local time).
Whether by chance or design, the Hawks’ loss locked them into the sixth seed spot, setting up a clash with the third-seeded Knicks.
“You just focus on what you’re doing and that’s what we did tonight – I felt like we competed and played the right way to be successful,” Snyder said.
“The other things you can’t control.”
New York also rested their starters and lost to the Charlotte Hornets 110-96 in their regular-season finale.
The Hawks and Knicks squared off last week, with Daniels delivering a double-double, although his team went down in a thriller as a last-minute basket from CJ McCollum, which would have tied the game, was denied by the officials.
Also on Sunday, Joe Ingles continued to make the most of his late-season opportunities, the veteran contributing 15 points in Minnesota’s 132-126 win over New Orleans.
Ranked sixth in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves will face third seed Denver.
Rookie Tyrese Proctor also impressed off the bench, with the 22-year-old Canberra product tipping in a career-high 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Cleveland ended their season with a 130-117 victory over Washington.
Josh Green’s Hornets, ranked ninth, will face the 10th-placed Miami in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, with their first match in Charlotte on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
The Aussie guard saw 10 minutes against the Knicks, draining one three-pointer.
Compatriot Matisse Thybulle only played seven minutes but continued his late-season resurgence for Portland with five points in their 122-110 win over Sacramento.
The Trailblazers travel to Phoenix for their Western Conference play-in clash.
The winners of Tuesday’s game take on No.2 seeds San Antonio, while the losers get another chance to earn a playoff spot.
