NBA Roundup: Thunder Clinches Top Seed in West with Dominant Win Over Mavericks 135-86

With a five-game winning streak at the end of the regular season, the Thunder won the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time since the 2012–13 campaign. Denver’s victory guaranteed the Thunder‘s postseason berth, as they also held the tiebreaker against the Nuggets and the three-way tiebreaker.

Seven players for Oklahoma City finished in double figures, led by Aaron Wiggins’ 14 points off the bench and Ousmane Dieng’s 13. In just 11:32, rookie Chet Holmgren scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds.

The Mavericks rested all of their starters except for Tim Hardaway Jr. after determining their postseason spot. With 22 points from Brandon Williams and 15 from Olivier-Maxence Prosper, the Mavericks finished with a season-low 33 percent shooting percentage.

SUNS 125, TIMBERWOLVES 106

With 36 points by Bradley Beal on 14 of 21 shots, including 6 of 6 from beyond the arc, Phoenix easily defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The Suns advanced over New Orleans for the sixth seed in the Western Conference and avoided the play-in round with the help of Devin Booker, who finished with 23 points and seven assists.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert led the team with 21 points and seven rebounds. The Timberwolves were tied for the best record in the Western Conference going into the game, but they lost on Sunday and fell to the third seed, with the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder taking the top two slots.

KNICKS 120, BULLS 119 (OT)

After holding off visiting Chicago in overtime, Jalen Brunson scored forty points, pulled down eight rebounds, and disheveled seven assists to help New York secure the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ defeat to the Orlando Magic helped the Knicks, who had their second 50-win campaign in 24 years. With 3:13 left in overtime, DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer put the Knicks up 114–112, then Donte DiVincenzo scored 25 more points to give them a decisive advantage.

With 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls. Coby White finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Nikola Vucevic finished with 29 points and a double-double.

CELTICS 132, WIZARDS 122

Boston defeated visiting Washington thanks to a career-high 38 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds from Payton Pritchard.

Out of 21 field goal tries, Pritchard made 15. Neemias Queta contributed 19 points and nine rebounds, while Svi Mykhailiuk scored 26 points for the Celtics.

With 26 points, Eugene Omoruyi led Washington, and Jared Butler chipped in with 22. The Wizards had a six-game losing run at the close of the season.

PACERS 157, HAWKS 115

Myles Turner scored 31 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as Indiana defeated Atlanta handily to secure a postseason position in the Eastern Conference in Indianapolis.

The Pacers secured the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the postseason after tying their highest-scoring effort in team history. Seven Pacers scored in double figures, with Pascal Siakam contributing 28 points. Indiana shot an astounding 65 percent (65 of 100) overall and 19 of 36 (52.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

In the opening round of the play-in tournament, the Hawks will take on the Chicago Bulls, led by 32 points from Dejounte Murray.

WARRIORS 123, JAZZ 116

Even though Golden State defeated visiting Utah in the regular-season finale with a score of 25 points from Klay Thompson, the team was unable to move up from their position in the Western Conference at 10th.

Tuesday’s Western play-in game will see the Warriors take on the Sacramento Kings in an elimination match. On the eve of the playoffs, Golden State made the decision to rest Draymond Green and Stephen Curry, allowing Thompson to play for just 20 minutes. This gave him ample time to shoot 6-for-12 from outside the arc for his game-high point total. Lester Quinones finished with 12 points, while Gui Santos finished with 13 for Golden State in the squad that won the game. In a starting position, Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points, and Dario Saric added 12 points.

With 21 points, Keyonte George led Utah, and Omer Yurtseven recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

NUGGETS 126, GRIZZLIES 111

With 21 points from Jamal Murray and 15 points and 15 rebounds from Nikola Jokic, visiting Denver defeated Memphis to claim the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Denver advanced past Minnesota, who fell to Phoenix at home on Sunday, and will face the victor of Tuesday night’s play-in game between the No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans and the No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers to start the first round of the playoffs.

Following a discouraging setback in San Antonio on Friday night, the Nuggets triumphed to give head coach Michael Malone his 424th career win and tie the team record for wins set in the 2012–13 campaign. Aaron Gordon scored 15 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 12, Christian Braun finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, and Peyton Watson each scored 11.

For the Grizzlies, GG Jackson finished with a career-high 44 points, Jake LaRavia had 29, and Scotty Pippen Jr. had 15.

MAGIC 113, BUCKS 88

With a rout of visiting Milwaukee, Paolo Banchero scored 26 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and made seven assists as Orlando secured a postseason spot.

With three steals and 25 points of his own, Franz Wagner helped the Magic secure their first postseason trip since the 2019–20 campaign. The Cleveland Cavaliers will host Orlando, the fifth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, in the opening round.

In the previous 11 games, the Bucks have suffered eight losses. In the first round, Milwaukee, the third seed in the East, will play the Indiana Pacers.

HEAT 118, RAPTORS 103

Miami defeated Toronto, an out-of-contention team, with 17 points apiece from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

After three quarters, with the game all but decided, the Heat turned to their bench, where Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with eighteen points. Thomas Bryant, a reserve, contributed 10 rebounds and 18 points as well. The Heat, as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, will have to make do with the play-in round despite the victory. On Wednesday, they take on the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in round.

Gary Trent Jr. led Toronto with eighteen points. Leading players Scottie Barnes (hand), RJ Barrett (knee), and Immanuel Quickley (adductor) were among the injured players sidelined for Toronto.

HORNETS 120, CAVALIERS 110

Despite having a lot of reserve players, Nick Smith Jr. scored 24 points to lead Charlotte against playoff-bound host Cleveland in the final game of the regular season.

With less than two minutes remaining, Smith, Amari Bailey, and JT Thor (20 points) ignited a late 15-2 run that gave the Hornets a 117-110 lead. Steve Clifford, the coach of Charlotte, played his last game before switching to a front-office position with the team.

For the Cavaliers, who placed fourth in the Eastern Conference, Max Strus earned his first career triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. The Cavaliers will take on the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. In addition, Cleveland’s starting lineup was mainly improvised, and the playing time of several players was cut.

76ERS 107, NETS 86

In the face of visiting Brooklyn, Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points as Philadelphia took the lead almost the whole game.

Joel Embiid missed another game for the Sixers when he tweaked his surgically repaired left knee during the first half of Friday’s game against the Orlando Magic. Despite this setback, the team finished the regular season with eight straight victories. When Embiid played, the Sixers went 31-8 and he appeared in 39 games.

Nets rookie Noah Clowney contributed 16 points, while Cam Thomas topped the team with 18. With 14 points from Trendon Watford and 12 from Lonnie Walker IV, Brooklyn shot 38.6 percent and made 25 of 34 3-pointers go wrong.

SPURS 123, PISTONS 95

With eight players scoring in double figures, Sandro Mamukelashvili led host San Antonio in scoring with 18 points as they easily defeated Detroit, a team that had already been eliminated from the semifinals.

The Spurs finished strong, winning four of their final six games to finish in 14th position in the West, one spot clear of the cellar, despite missing six starters due to injuries.

For Detroit, James Wiseman scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds. The Pistons set a franchise record for wins in a season, surpassing the 16 victories from the 1979–80 team, and lost 15 of their final 17 games to conclude as the poorest team in the NBA.

LAKERS 124, PELICANS 108

Los Angeles crushed New Orleans while LeBron James recorded a triple-double and Anthony Davis recorded a double-double.

With 28 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds from James and 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 rebounds from Davis, the Lakers secured the eighth spot and scheduled a play-in game for Tuesday night in New Orleans against the seventh-seeded Pelicans.

With 25 points, CJ McCollum led New Orleans. Herbert Jones scored eighteen more, and Larry Nance Jr. and Brandon Ingram, who had been out for twelve games apiece because of a hyperextended knee, each scored thirteen.

KINGS 121, BLAZERS 82

Sacramento defeated Portland with ease with to 24 points from De’Aaron Fox in the first three quarters.

The Kings will be the No. 9 seed this time around after finishing as the third seed in the Western Conference the previous season, when they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2006. On Tuesday, Sacramento will play host to the Warriors in a play-in game.

Late in the fourth quarter, Dalano Banton led the Trail Blazers with 17 points before getting dismissed for a flagrant 2 foul. He was the only player in NBA history to shoot 0-for-15 from beyond the arc, finishing with a 6-for-26 shooting percentage and missing all 15 of his 3-point attempts. Going 0 for 12 from 3-point range, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, and Justin Anderson all shared the previous record of futility.

ROCKETS 116, CCLIPPERS 105

Houston upset host Los Angeles behind 21 points from Cam Whitmore and a career-high 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists from Amen Thompson.

Houston won for the third time in its previous four games and avoided a fourth consecutive losing season behind 15 points from Jabari Smith Jr.

Terance Mann scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Clippers. In a game that had no playoff implications, both sides used reserve players. With 3:09 left, the Clippers were behind 105-102, but Houston went on a 14-0 run to win the game.