The NBA playoff matchups are set as the regular season came to a close on Sunday. With the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture locked up ahead of the final regular season games, it was the Western Conference whose seeding came down to the wire.
Only three of the ten seeds were locked up heading into Sunday. The rest of the field’s seeding was determined on Sunday’s Decision Day, as a few teams got key wins to secure non-play-in spots.
Here’s how things shook out in the West after a busy final day of regular-season play.
Advertisement
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14)
The Thunder fell just short of a 70-win season this year, but a 115-100 win against the New Orlean Pelicans on Sunday gives OKC another boost heading into the postseason. The Thunder’s first-round opponent will determined by the two play-in games — with the team hopefully capping off one of the best regular seasons in years with a strong postseason run.
2. Houston Rockets (52-30)
It wasn’t the best end to the regular season for the Rockets, who lost 126-111 to the Denver Nuggets. But Houston had locked up the second seed prior to Sunday, meaning that the loss did not matter for the postseason. The Rockets will now face the No. 7 seed, the winner of the two play-in games, in the first round of the playoffs.
Advertisement
3. Los Angeles Lakers (50-32)
After already capturing the third seed, the Lakers put forward a young starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Portland Trailblazers. That Bronny James-led lineup didn’t have much of a chance against Portland, with the Trailblazers beating the Lakers 109-81 — not that it mattered for the postseason. L.A. will now face off against the No. 6-seeded Timberwolves.
4. Denver Nuggets (50-32)
Despite the turmoil happening in Denver right now, the Nuggets were able to lock up a big win over the Rockets on Sunday to secure the No. 4 seed. Denver will now have home court advantage to face the No. 5-seeded Clippers — a definite boost for the team’s playoff run.
Advertisement
5. Los Angeles Clippers (50-32)
The most consequential matchup of the day was Clippers-Warriors, with the team teams facing off for a chance to avoid the play-in tournament. This game came down to the wire, with the two teams trading leads in the final minutes of the game before heading to overtime.
In the end the Clippers came out on top, earning a 124-119 win after pulling away in overtime. With the win, L.A. escapes the play-in tournament, and will travel to face the Nuggets in the first round.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33)
With the 4-7 seeds so tight, the Timberwolves needed a win in order to avoid the play-in tournament. On Sunday, they got it, beating the Utah Jazz 116-105 to secure the No. 6 seed and get some momentum going into the postseason. Minnesota will now face the Lakers, the No. 3 seed, in the first round.
7. Golden State Warriors (48-34)
After the overtime loss to the Clippers, the Warriors will have to settle for a play-in matchup against Memphis, the No. 8 seed — but will host that matchup at home.
Advertisement
8. Memphis Grizzlies (48-34)
A huge victory on Sunday puts the Grizzlies into solid position heading into the playoffs. Although Memphis fell short of securing home-court advantage, the 132-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks still builds some momentum. The Grizzlies will travel to play the Warriors for the first play-in matchup this week.
9. Sacramento Kings (40-42)
The Kings pulled off the 109-98 win over the Phoenix Suns to capture the No. 9 seed and home-court advantage for the play-in tournament. Sacramento will host Dallas, the final seed, in the play-in round after beating the team in all three meetings this season.
Advertisement
10. Dallas Mavericks (39-43)
The Mavericks’ regular season came to an end with a 35-point loss to the Grizzlies. Dallas locks up the final play-in seed off a losing record, but a chance to keep things going in the postseason.
