The First Round Begins

At one point in the middle of the season, Beal had even climbed into the top three on the League's scoring chart.

On top of that, the League had given the Wizards a relatively easy schedule this season, and Wall had gradually shown signs of finding his form in the second half. That was how they had barely squeezed into the top eight in the Western Conference.

But tonight, their luck had run out.

The Chicago Bulls controlled the tempo from start to finish, secured the win, and advanced to the first round of the Playoffs.

117–107.

That was the final score.

Oladipo's 34 points, five rebounds, and eight assists had carried his team into the Playoffs once again.

For the Wizards, Beal's 36 points, six rebounds, and five assists went to waste. Even he could not turn the game around.

The Wizards could only prepare for their next game against the Hawks Team.

With the first round of the play-in over, the teams set to face the second seeds in both conferences were nearly decided.

Then came a day of rest on May 21.

On May 22, the final play-in games in both conferences tipped off.

The matchups were the Phoenix Suns against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Washington Wizards against the Atlanta Hawks.

Both games were far more fiercely contested than those of the previous two days.

The Timberwolves and Suns battled down to the final second.

The Suns had the stronger group of forwards.

Big Joe and Huang Zhong, who had struggled against the Dallas Mavericks, both found their shooting touch again and gave their team a huge boost.

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, had the edge in the paint.

Towns was still valuable. When a switch left him guarding a forward or even a guard, opponents could exploit