1 week Ago
The LA Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves each secured a play-off spot with victories on the final day of the regular NBA season. The Clippers finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 124-119 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors, who drop into the play-in tournament. James Harden scored 12 of his game-high 39 points in overtime as the Clippers set up a play-off meeting with the Denver Nuggets, who had already qualified for the play-offs but clinched fourth place by beating the Houston Rockets 126-111.
Anthony Edwards top-scored with 43 points as the Timberwolves beat the Utah Jazz 116-105 to finish sixth and set-up a play-off with the Los Angeles Lakers. Eastern Conference play-offs: Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks. Play-ins: Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls.
Western Conference play-offs: Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesotra Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers. Play-ins: Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings. The play-offs begin with the play-in tournament between the four teams finishing seventh to 10th in the regular season.
Seventh play eighth - with the winners going straight into the play-offs to face the second seed. But the losers get a second chance, as they then face the winners of the play-in match between the teams in ninth and 10th. The losers of that game are eliminated, while the winners go into the play-offs to face the top seeds.
Play-off rounds are decided by a best-of-seven series, with match-ups decided by seedings. The first round is followed by the conference semi-finals, then the conference finals, with the winners of each conference meeting in the NBA Finals. Western Conference play-ins: Memphis Grizzlies (8) at Golden State Warriors (7) Dallas Mavericks (10) at Sacramento Kings (9) Play-offs: Oklahoma City Thunder (1) v TBD Houston Rockets (2) v TBD Los Angeles Lakers (3) v Minnesota Timberwolves (6) Denver Nuggets (4) v LA Clippers Eastern Conference play-ins: Atlanta Hawks (8) at Orlando Magic (7) Miami Heat (10) at Chicago Bulls (9) Play-offs: Cleveland Cavaliers (1) v TBD Boston Celtics (2) v TBD New York Knicks (3) v Detroit Pistons (6) Indian Pacers (4) v Milwaukee Bucks (5) Brackets denote seeding The NBA play-ins take place between Wednesday and Friday.
The play-offs are scheduled between 19 April and 2 June. The opening game of the NBA Finals takes place on 5 June. Games are then scheduled every three days after that and, if all seven games are required, game seven will be on 22 June.
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