2025 NBA Play-In Tournament results: Grizzlies and Heat earn No. 8 seeds as playoff bracket is set

The 2025 NBA playoffs begin on Saturday

The 2025 NBA playoff bracket is officially set, as the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat earned the No. 8 seeds in their respective conferences on Friday night in the final games of the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Heat won a 123-114 overtime thriller against the Atlanta Hawks, and became the first No. 10 seed to ever advance to the playoffs. They'll face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. 

Meanwhile the Grizzlies made quick work of the Dallas Mavericks in Friday night's 120-106 win, moving on to face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round.

Miami and Dallas kept their seasons alive on Wednesday night as the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings were both eliminated in blowout fashion during the 9/10 play-in games.

The Golden State Warriors and Orlando Magic were victorious in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday, beating the Grizzlies and Hawks, respectively, to capture the No. 7 seeds. Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler combined for 75 points in the Warriors win, while the Magic pulled away from Atlanta for a 25-point win.

Here's a look at the complete results from the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament.

2025 NBA Play-In Tournament schedule, scores

All times Eastern

Tuesday, April 15
Magic 120, Hawks 95
Warriors 121, Grizzlies 116

Wednesday, April 16
Heat 109, Bulls 90
Mavericks 120, Kings 106

Friday, April 18
Heat 123, Hawks 114 (OT)
Grizzlies 120, Mavericks 106

Play-In Tournament format explained

The Play-In Tournament features the teams seeded 7-10 in each conference battling for the last two playoff spots (the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds). The teams that finished seventh and eighth in the standings face off first for the No. 7 seed. The teams that finished ninth and 10th go head-to-head the next night. The winner of that game faces the loser of the 7/8 game on Friday with the No. 8 seed on the line. The losers of the 9/10 game on Wednesday and the losers of the 8-seed game on Friday night are eliminated and their seasons are over. The NBA began using this Play-In Tournament format in 2021. 

CBS Sports will be providing live updates from key moments throughout the Play-In Tournament. Follow along below.

[Apr 19, 2025 at 12:04 am ET · Sam Quinn]

FINAL: Grizzlies 120, Mavericks 106

And that is a wrap on the 2024-25 Dallas Mavericks, folks. The worst season in franchise history has officially come to a close as they have been defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies in the No. 8 seed game in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. The Grizzlies now advance to a first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are left to sort through the wreckage of their disastrous Luka Dončić trade.

The one Maverick who held up his end of the bargain, though, was the one they got back in that deal. Anthony Davis, clearly playing through an injury, was sensational. He gave Dallas 40 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes. He outscored the four remaining Dallas leaders, 40-to-31, as P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively were scoreless.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, seem to have pulled themselves together after the late-season funk that led to, and then followed, the firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins. They pushed the Golden State Warriors to the brink on Tuesday, and tonight, they ran the Mavericks off of the floor. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. combined for 68 points, and now the Grizzlies will try their luck against the Western Conference favorites in the first round.

[Apr 18, 2025 at 10:46 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Grizzlies up big at halftime

We had one No. 10 seed reach the playoffs on Friday, but it doesn't look like we're getting another one. The Grizzlies are up big on the Mavericks through two quarters in Memphis, 66-49. The winner will earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

The stars of the show for the Grizzlies have come in their backcourt. Ja Morant and Desmond Bane have combined for 31 points and 10 assists in the first two quarters, and that feels appropriate as the Mavericks basically aren't using guards at all. Their smallest starter, as was the case against Sacramento, was Klay Thompson. They've experimented with almost everyone on their bench, but right now, they look like a one-man team.

Anthony Davis has 22 points at the half. The four other starters for the Mavericks have 12 combined. With Kyrie Irving injured and Nico Harrison refusing to add more shot-creation at the deadline, he's all the Mavericks have right now. So far, that hasn't been nearly enough.

[Apr 18, 2025 at 10:09 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Ja Morant just Space Jammed the Mavericks

It wouldn't be a Grizzlies game without one insane Ja Morant highlight, now would it? Despite playing on an injured ankle, he still has plenty of hops tonight. Midway through the first quarter, Santi Aldama missed a runner as Memphis led by 13, but Morant flew in from behind the 3-point line, reached all the way back to grab the rebound, and then slammed the ball in one fluid motion. It was the biggest highlight of a dominant first quarter performance by the Grizzlies.

[Apr 18, 2025 at 9:41 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

FINAL: Heat 123, Hawks 114 (OT)

We have play-in history, folks. The Miami Heat are the first regular-season No. 10 seed ever to reach the playoffs. Their journey began with a road win on Wednesday in Chicago, and they followed that up with a thrilling overtime victory on Friday over the Hawks. They will now face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round as the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed.

The game was the most exciting we've seen in the Play-In Tournament yet. Miami led by as many as 17 points, as the Hawks couldn't hit a jumper and Trae Young was ice cold. But things began to turn in the third quarter, and the Hawks opened the fourth on a 21-6 run that gave them the lead. The two sides went back and forth before Young's layup with 1.3 seconds left sent the game to overtime. Miami's shooting took over from there, though, with Davion Mitchell providing critical defense on Young while hitting three enormous 3-pointers of his own.

Mitchell finished the game with 16 points off the bench to go along with Tyler Herro's 30 in the starting five. Not even 57 combined points from Young and Onyeka Okongwu were enough to keep Atlanta going in this one, and for the second straight year, the Hawks have been eliminated in the play-in stage.

[Apr 18, 2025 at 9:26 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Hawks and Heat are going to overtime!

What a game here in Atlanta! The Heat led this one by as many as 17 points, but the Hawks fought back in the second half, and after Tyler Herro missed a key free throw, Trae Young tied things up with a driving layup with 1.3 seconds to go. The Heat couldn't respond with a bucket on the other end, and we'll play five more minutes in Atlanta with a first-round matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on the line!

[Apr 18, 2025 at 9:06 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Update: Ja Morant will play vs. Mavericks

We're still in the middle of the fourth quarter between the Hawks and Heat, but we've got some news about the second half of tonight's double-header. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Ja Morant will play against the Dallas Mavericks tonight as they determine who will earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

[Apr 18, 2025 at 8:10 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Heat in control through two quarters

We might be headed towards play-in history, folks. No No. 10 has ever won both play-in games to sneak into the playoffs, but the Miami Heat, leading 62-53 over the Atlanta Hawks at halftime, have a chance to do just that if they keep this up. They defeated the Chicago Bulls on the road Wednesday, and now, they are two quarters away from earning a first-round date with the Cleveland Cavaliers if they can finish things up in Atlanta.

It's been a balanced attack thus far for the Heat. Four of their five starters are in double figures, and nobody has more than Bam Adebayo's 13 points. Trae Young has 12 for the Hawks, but on a measly 2-of-11 shooting from the floor. Only his free throws have kept him going thus far tonight.

Adding to the drama here: if Atlanta loses, it is in danger of losing a lottery pick. They are set to get Sacramento's first-rounder in June's draft, but if the Kings pick between No. 1 and No. 12, they keep it. If the Heat win, a Dallas win tonight pushes that Sacramento pick down to the No. 12 slot on lottery night and gives the Kings a 93% chance at keeping the choice. 

[Apr 18, 2025 at 11:13 am ET · Aaron Gray]

Best bets for tonight's play-in games

NBA Play-In Tournament odds, picks: Trae Young can close for Hawks, Grizzlies defend Mavs in low-scoring game

Sam Quinn

[Apr 17, 2025 at 12:36 am ET · Brad Botkin]

🚨FINAL: Mavericks 120, Kings 106

Mavs move on to face Grizz; Kings are eliminated

The Dallas Mavericks cleared the first hurdle in their two-game quest to win the Western Conference's No. 8 seed and qualify for a first-round playoff series with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder by ending the Sacramento Kings' season on Wednesday. 

But it only gets tougher from here. Dallas on Friday will face the Memphis Grizzlies, who lost to the Warriors in the 7-8 play-in game on Tuesday, with the winner securing the No. 8 seed and the loser heading to the lottery. 

Anthony Davis, who got off to a rough start but found his groove late in the first half after Dallas' shooters loosened up the pressure Sacramento was squeezing down on him with, led the Mavericks with 27 points and nine rebounds. But it was Klay Thompson who really opened this game up in the second quarter, when the Mavericks turned a two-point deficit into a 23-point halftime advantage. 

Thompson, who was on a bit of a revenge mission after going 0 for 10 in a play-in loss to the Kings last season that turned out to be his final game in a Warriors uniform, sunk four 3-pointers en route to 16 second-quarter points. Thompson finished with 23 points, while P.J. Washington and Brandon Williams each added 17. 

Dallas' defense deserves a lot of credit for this win. Sacramento just couldn't get any kind of downhill or post leverage in the paint to force either defensive collapses (the lack of which made most of their shots highly contested one-on-one attempts) or fouls. Dallas, which was winning one-on-one matchups, made 24 free throws to Sacramento's 11. That 13-point disparity was almost the exact difference in the final score of a game that was pretty close to even everywhere else. 

But again, the Grizzlies are going to be a much tougher task for the Mavericks than this Kings team. Memphis very easily could've beaten the Warriors and was in the hunt for a top-four seed into the final weeks of the season. The biggest question leading up to that game will be the health of Ja Morant, who rolled his ankle in the second half against Golden State. He came back in and played pretty well down the stretch, but was clearly hobbled. 

The Mavericks-Grizzlies one-and-done March Madness style game, which will be in Memphis, is set for Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET. 

[Apr 16, 2025 at 11:18 pm ET · Brad Botkin]

Halftime: Mavericks 71, Kings 48

The Mavericks blew this one open behind four 3-pointers and 16 second-quarter points from Klay Thompson, who is on a bit of a personal revenge mission after he went 0 for 10 in a play-in loss to the Kings last season -- which turned out to be his last game in a Golden State Warriors uniform. 

Thompson has combined with Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington to put up 35 first-half points on 13-of-21 shooting. Brandon Williams has added three 3-pointers off the bench. That has more than covered for what was a rough Anthony Davis night for most of the first half. Davis connected on a couple late buckets to make the box score look better with 12 points, but he was just 2 for 9 before that as the Kings haven't given him much space to operate. 

For the Kings, nobody is getting into the paint. Without that penetration or leveraged post moves from Domantas Sabonis to collapse the defense, the Kings have had to exist on a lot of one-on-one contested shots and it's not working out from inside the arc, where they have made just eight of their 22 attempts. The only thing that kept them attached for a while was their eight 3-pointers on 17 attempts, but even that's not holding up anymore. 

[Apr 16, 2025 at 10:11 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

🚨FINAL: Heat 109, Bulls 90

Heat advance to face Hawks, while Bulls' season ends

The Heat were in control for the entire night on the road against the Bulls and have won the right to face the Atlanta Hawks with the chance to claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tyler Herro finished with 38 points, while Andrew Wiggins poured in 20 to lead the Heat in a commanding win over a Bulls team that was porous defensively, committed too many turnovers and took too long to get into any sort of offensive rhythm for it to make much of a difference.

The Heat climbed out to a 25-point lead in the first half, and while the Bulls cut it down to 13 in the third quarter, it just wasn't enough to withstand a Heat team that kept the pressure on Chicago the whole night. Coby White struggled mightily, shooting just 25% from the floor. And while Josh Giddey tried his best to lead the charge for the Bulls, his 25 points wasn't nearly enough especially when he was getting hunted relentlessly on defense for much of the first half.

The Bulls now head into an offseason with many questions about what this team's future looks like. You could argue Chicago should've been in rebuilding mode this season, but that wasn't what the priority was for the season. Next up, the Bulls will prepare for the draft lottery where they'll have a chance at a top-14 pick.

[Apr 16, 2025 at 8:45 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

Halftime: Heat 71, Bulls 47  

The Heat have had no issue putting points on the board against the Bulls and are in complete control of this play-in game. Tyler Herro is basically having an uninterrupted layup line out there. He has 23 points and hasn't missed a shot. Chicago's Josh Giddey was hunted relentlessly on defense as Miami is shooting an absurd 55.6% from 3-point range.

To get a feel for how ridiculously easy it has been for the Heat, just look at Duncan Robinson taking what should be a nearly impossibly shot to get off with Nikola Vučević draped all over him in the corner, but of course, he drills it.

The Bulls look completely lost out there defensively, and on offense, the dynamic duo of Giddey and Coby White just haven't done enough to keep pace with a Heat team that seemingly can't miss. While Herro leads all scorers with 23, Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo are also in double figures, and as a team Miami is limiting Chicago to just 33% from beyond the arc. 

It was a poor first half for the Bulls and the home fans voiced their displeasure with boos as the team went to the locker room at the break. We'll see if they have a dramatic comeback up their sleeve to make this a competitive game.

[Apr 16, 2025 at 1:04 am ET · Sam Quinn]

🚨FINAL: Warriors 121, Grizzlies 116

Warriors clinch No. 7 seed in West with thrilling win

The first game on Tuesday night might have been a dud, but the second more than delivered. After a grueling four quarters that included Memphis coming back from a 20-point deficit, Golden State ultimately won the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game in the Western Conference and will advance to the playoffs. As the No. 7 seed, the Warriors will face the No. 2 seeded Houston Rockets in the first round.

The game was one of the most exciting the Play-In Tournament has ever produced. Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry managed to combine for 75 points. With Ja Morant playing the fourth quarter on a hobbled ankle and Jaren Jackson Jr. struggling, it was Desmond Bane leading the way for the Grizzlies with 30 points of his own.

In the end, though, it was Curry's shooting that made the difference. Two huge 3-pointers with less than two minutes to go gave the Warriors a lead they would never surrender, though they certainly came close. 

Two free throws from Bane and a steal from Scotty Pippen Jr. gave the Grizzlies life, but a missed free throw from Pippen and a five-second violation with 5.1 seconds remaining doomed the Grizzlies.

Now Memphis will return home to host either the Sacramento Kings or Dallas Mavericks on Friday, depending on who wins the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game on Wednesday. Friday's winner will then advance to the playoffs to face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

[Apr 16, 2025 at 12:06 am ET · Sam Quinn]

We have a game here, folks, Ja Morant or no

So much for the Warriors blowout, I suppose. Golden State led by as many as 20, but the Grizzlies have cut the deficit down to three with the Warriors ahead 94-91 after three. Amazingly, the Grizzlies haven't let up despite losing Ja Morant to an ankle injury midway through the frame. Morant is still on the bench, so his status is not clear, but a 36-27 third quarter for the Grizzlies has given us an exciting finish to look forward to in San Francisco.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 11:58 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Ja Morant hurts ankle; back on the floor

The Grizzlies cannot catch a break. The Grizzlies trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half, but Ja Morant had helped them scrape their way back into things. Trailing by four, Morant made a short pull-up jumper on the baseline, but in the process, he landed on the ankle of Warriors guard Buddy Hield.

Morant stayed in the game to make his free throw, cutting the deficit to one, but the Grizzlies quickly fouled to get him off of the court from there. He limped to the bench and was evaluated by trainers from there.

UPDATE: Morant has checked back into the game with roughly nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and Golden State up two.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 11:18 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

HALFTIME: Warriors 67, Grizzlies 55

The Grizzlies are holding on for dear life here as the revamped Warriors have played one of their best games since the trade deadline. They've been led by deadline acquisition Jimmy Butler, who has 21 points and has already gotten to the line eight times, and after a slow first quarter, Stephen Curry has heated up and is now up to 15 points of his own. The ball is flying around the gym, the shots are falling, this is playoff Warriors basketball.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, can't get out of their own way. They've already turned the ball over 10 times, twice as many as the typically turnover-happy Warriors, and the bizarre decision to let Zach Edey guard Butler proved disastrous. Ja Morant has been great with 15 points, but the once-vaunted Memphis defense has been a mess and this game is in serious danger of slipping away from them.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 11:09 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Ja Morant what?!?!?

How does a 6-foot-3 guard score against two of the best defenders in the NBA at the same time? Ja Morant just answered that question: get the bigger one, Jimmy Butler, up in the air, throw the ball off the backboard, and then catch it and finish it yourself once that star defender has landed. Wow.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 10:41 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Warriors up six after a quarter

It looked like Golden State might be on upset alert when the Grizzlies took an early 11-2 lead. It's been all Warriors ever since, as Golden State closed the first quarter on an 29-14 run to take a 31-25 lead after 12 minutes. Amazingly, this success largely didn't start with Stephen Curry, who scored just four points in the first quarter and sat out the final few minutes.

No, the first quarter of this one belonged to Jimmy Butler, who scored 10, and the role players, as Quentin Post and Gary Payton II combined for 13. Remember, Jonathan Kuminga was removed from the rotation on Sunday, and it seems as though he's out of it again tonight as well. That puts more pressure on the less heralded role players to deliver, and they've done so tonight.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 10:13 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

🚨FINAL: Magic 120, Hawks 95

Orlando will face Boston in the first round

The Orlando Magic are headed to the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seed where they will face the No. 2 seeded defending champion Boston Celtics. They earned that right with a resounding win over the Hawks in Tuesday's Eastern Conference play-in game, punching their second consecutive ticket to the playoffs.

It was a rough shooting night for Orlando's best players. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner combined to shoot a meager 10-of-28 from the floor and 0-of-8 from 3-point range, but on this night, it was the supporting players that lifted them up. Coincidentally, both of them share a name. Anthony Black and Cole Anthony combined to score 42 points off of the bench on 7-of-12 shooting from deep to give the Magic the offensive boost they needed to pull away in the second half.

The Hawks, meanwhile, will host the winner of Wednesday's bout between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks on Friday for the right to play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. It was a disastrous game all around for Atlanta, but things got even worse in the fourth quarter when Trae Young was ejected for picking up two technical fouls between a runner that he made and the resumption of play. Young will likely be fined before Friday's action, and he'll need a big night to make up for Tuesday's ending.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 10:06 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Trae Young ejected

It's been a frustrating fourth quarter for Atlanta. After pulling to within three in the third quarter, the game fell away from them in the fourth as Anthony Black and Cole Anthony more or less relegated the Hawks to the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game on their own. One prominent member of the Hawks didn't handle that well.

After making a nice runner, Young got called for a technical foul. He responded by kicking the ball, giving him a second tech before play even resumed, and therefore earning himself an ejection. He then held onto the ball even longer, keeping it away from the official and likely earning himself a fine. The game may already have been out of hand, but now Young has stirred up some drama ahead of Friday's battle with either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 8:45 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

It's all Magic at halftime

Well folks, it turns out that Southeast Division crown the Magic clinched in the final days of the regular season mattered after all. Orlando, with home-court advantage as the No. 7 seed, is crushing Atlanta, 61-47, at the half with a playoff spot on the line. If the Magic keep this up, they'll earn the right to face the Boston Celtics in the first round.

Both teams are missing key pieces, and it shows, as they are shooting a combined 8-of-34 from deep in what has been a messy first half. Atlanta has been without Jalen Johnson since late January, and Jalen Suggs has been out even longer for the Magic. But Orlando is the deeper team here. Neither team has anyone jumping off of the page statistically, as the leading scorers are Trae Young and Wendell Carter Jr. with 10 apiece. But the Magic are getting more out of their whole roster than Atlanta, who still leans too much on Young for offense.

While the winner of tonight's bout moves on to face Boston, the loser will return to action on Friday, hosting either the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls in the final Eastern Conference play-in game. The winner of that one will take the No. 8 seed and challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

[Apr 15, 2025 at 7:18 pm ET · Stephen Pianovich]

Best bets for tonight's play-in games

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Sam Quinn