"You're talking about two of the greatest players of all time," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Both guys are still playing at such an elite level. And of course, four meetings in the finals is going to create a rivalry. But there's obviously tremendous mutual respect between the two of them."

The other matchups are set: No 3 Milwaukee faces No 6 Miami and No 4 New York plays No 5 Atlanta in the East quarterfinals, while No 3 Denver meets No 6 Portland and the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers drew No 5 Dallas in the West quarterfinals.

Denver lost to Portland on Sunday, a result that kept the Blazers from the play-in－and kept the Nuggets from seeing the Lakers in round one.

"Good strategy," Dudley said.

Boston and the Lakers have the inside track to postseason spots. As the highest-seeded teams in the play-in, they will get two chances if necessary, both at home, to win just one game and make the playoffs.

"You win, you're in. You lose, you're not," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "I think that that's something that will add a great deal of intrigue to fans and people are going to be excited about it. But you've got to be appropriately prepared, again, to play a fast game with a clear mind."

The game to decide No 8 in the East is Thursday, and the one that'll decide No 8 in the West is Friday. The playoffs start Saturday.

"We're excited that we have the opportunity to keep playing," Kerr said.

Agencies via Xinhua