Final day determines playoff bracket for Western Conference
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors were unable to untangle the chaotic race for Western Conference playoff seedings during their regular-season finale on Sunday.
An additional five minutes were needed, with the Clippers (50-32) ultimately winning 124-119 in overtime in San Francisco. This victory secured them the fifth seed and a playoff series against the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets (50-32) when the first round begins on April 19.
The Warriors (48-34) fell to seventh place as a result of this loss, setting them up for a matchup against the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies (48-34) in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday in San Francisco. The winner of this game will become the West's No. 7 seed in the playoffs.
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As teams played their 82nd games on Sunday, the Eastern Conference seedings had already been determined. However, in the West, only the top three seeds - the Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14), Houston Rockets (52-30), and Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) - had secured their seeding.
The remaining spots from fourth to tenth place were still up for grabs, leading to a hectic day of scoreboard watching. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time since the establishment of conferences in the 1970-71 season that three teams from one conference secured playoff berths on the last day of the regular season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) managed to avoid the play-in by defeating the lowly Utah Jazz (league-worst 17-65) 116-105 on Sunday, securing the sixth spot and a first-round series with the Lakers.
The Dallas Mavericks (39-43) will face the ninth-place Sacramento Kings (40-42) in the other play-in game on Wednesday as the 10th and final team to continue playing in the West. The loser of this game will be eliminated, while the winner will play on Friday against the loser of the Grizzlies-Warriors matchup to determine the West's No. 8 seed.
The Nuggets, who won their last three games under interim head coach David Adelman, secured the West's fourth seed by defeating the Rockets 126-111 on Sunday.
The No. 1 Thunder will face the winner of the No. 8 play-in game, while the No. 2 Rockets will face the winner of the No. 7 play-in game.
In the Eastern Conference, the postseason teams already knew their assignments before Sunday. The eighth-place Atlanta Hawks (40-42) will face the seventh-place Orlando Magic (41-41) on Tuesday. The ninth-place Chicago Bulls (39-43) will host the 10th-place Miami Heat (37-45) on Wednesday, with the loser being eliminated.
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The Hawks and Magic have split their four meetings this season, including Sunday's game where the Hawks won 117-105 with mainly reserve players.
The winner of Tuesday's game in Orlando will become the East's No. 7 seed and will face the second-seeded Boston Celtics (61-21) in the first round.
The loser of the Hawks-Magic game will face the winner of the Heat-Bulls game to advance as the East's No. 8 seed and will face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18) in the first round.
The other Eastern Conference first-round matchups are the No. 3 New York Knicks (51-31) against the No. 6 Detroit Pistons (44-38) and the No. 4 Indiana Pacers (50-32) against the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks (48-34).
