The Los Angeles Clippers worked overtime to clinch a playoff spot – and send the Golden State Warriors to the NBA’s play-in tournament.
In the final regular-season game, the Clippers defeated the Warriors 124-119 in overtime to secure the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors fell to No. 7 and will host No. 8 Memphis on Tuesday, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed.
If Golden State had won, the Clippers would have dropped to seventh place. But James Harden prevented that with 39 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds to cap an All-Star season for the former NBA MVP and give the Clippers an eighth straight win and a 50-32 record.
“We’re a good team and we’re excited to show the world, but we’re a good team,” Harden said in a postgame interview with ESPN on the court.
The West bracket was not set until the final day, when numerous teams were competing for multiple positions, even though the top three teams—Oklahoma City, Houston, and the Los Angeles Lakers—had already been determined. After a chaotic final week that included the firings of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, the Denver Nuggets came together to defeat the Rockets 126-111 to secure the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round against the Clippers. As the Nuggets, Clippers, and Lakers all finished 50-32, Los Angeles held the tiebreaker to finish third and begin a series in Los Angeles for the first time since 2012. After defeating Utah 116-105, the Timberwolves, who had the potential to fall to eighth in some scenarios, instead finished in position No. 6 with a record of 49-33. After emphasizing the urgency of avoiding having to play at least one more game, Anthony Edwards scored 43 points. The All-Star guard stated, “Like, we don’t want to play in the play-in, because I’ve been in both situations.” We want to be completely ready for the playoffs. We would like that entire week. Additionally, the Warriors, who have never played in a play-in tournament, failed. They would have finished sixth, which would have set up a major playoff matchup between Stephen Curry and LeBron James. They now have just two days to shake off the disappointment.
Jimmy Butler, the forward, stated, “We’re right where we want to be.” We still have a chance and control our destiny. We’re going to be just fine.”
In the West, Sacramento ranks ninth, while Dallas ranks tenth. The winner will face the top-seeded Thunder in the first round if they defeat the Golden State-Memphis game on Wednesday in Sacramento. There was no final-day drama in the East, where everything had already been decided.
Cleveland are No. 1 and Boston No.2, and they will await the two teams to advance from the play-in. The No 3 New York Knicks will face the No 6 Detroit Pistons, and No 4 Indiana will meet No 5 Milwaukee.
Orlando are No 7 and will host eighth-seeded Atlanta on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to face the Celtics. The loser will have another chance to play the player who won the game between No. 9, Chicago, and 10 Miami.
