After today, only four teams will remain in the Consolation Bracket, and with that, we will be down to just a single game per day. At home, we have a pair of teams that finished in fifth place in their respective groups, one of whom lost in the Consolation Bracket's second round, and another who lost in the third round. They welcome in a pair of sixth place teams who won their first three games and fell at the hands of the top two seeds in the Bracket. The winners advance to play each other; the losers go home.
Home court is being given to those two fifth place teams based on their fifth place finish in Group Play, which is the primary factor in seeding teams for this tournament. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to the action!
Loser's Bracket
@ (5) '10 Los Angeles Lakers 103, (6) '94 Houston Rockets 80
The Rockets drop their second game in as many days and find themselves eliminated after committing 18 turnovers and seeing the Lakers hit all of their free throws to overcome a lot of struggles from beyond the arc by both teams. Kobe Bryant had 20 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Pau Gasol finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists. Hakeem Olajuwon paced the Rockets with 21 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks, Otis Thorpe added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Vernon Maxwell finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
The Bulls roared out to a 35-27 lead after one quarter and just poured it on from there with a 37-24 second quarter to turn this one into a laugher. Scottie Pippen had a triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, Michael Jordan added 25 points and nine rebounds, B.J. Armstrong chipped in 20 points and five assists, and Horace Grant notched 13 points and 18 rebounds for Chicago. John Havlicek led the Celtics with 21 points and nine rebounds, Sam Jones scored 20 points, and Bill Russell finished with eight points and 16 rebounds.
To see the updated bracket, click here.
And then there were four. It's all fifth place teams from here on out, which means we go to the Group Play records and point differentials to break ties and determine home court advantage the rest of the way. Later today, I'll have the final results from the Round of 32 that narrows the Elimination Stage field down to 16 teams, and tomorrow I'll be back with another game from the loser's bracket as we narrow this field down to three. Check back later for all the action!
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