'Integrity' questioned with in-season tourney's point-differential tiebreaker - ESPN

Point differential took on real meaning in the NBA on Tuesday night, when some teams looking to stay alive in the inaugural in-season tournament needed to win — and win big — in order to advance.

Not everyone involved was in love with the situation.

The New York Knicks finished second in Group B behind the Milwaukee Bucks. But after beating the Charlotte Hornets 115-91, the Knicks secured the sole wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by tiebreaker because of their point differential in the preliminary round.

New York guard Josh Hart said after Tuesday's contest he wasn't too fond of the idea that in order to advance, the Knicks had to run up the score on their opponent.

«It was interesting. I don't really like it,» he said. «We were focused, at first, just about winning. The last couple of minutes it feels weird. At a certain point, you just start chasing points, doing all that. So it kind of messes with the integrity of the game a little bit.»

Like the Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished group play at 3-1, but the Cavs' point differential wasn't large enough to advance to next week's quarterfinals. They went down with a fight, though.

Trailing by 20 against Cleveland, Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder pulled his starters with 3:54 left. However, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff stuck with his first team the rest of the way, hoping it could open an even bigger lead to advance.

As some of Cleveland's assistants monitored the out-of-town games from their seats, the Cavs didn't let up.

Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell admitted the final few moments were awkward.

What to know about the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament, including the Dec. 9 final in Las Vegas.

• Pacers embrace tourney opportunity
• Lakers clinch QF spot