The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday secured the Western Conference top seed and best record in the NBA with a 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Center Chet Holmgren poured in 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, while NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists for the reigning champions, who notched a seventh straight victory to improve to 64-16 with two games left in the regular season.
Oklahoma City snagged the West’s top seed for the third year running and with the best overall record, they are to have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images
“It’s extremely important,” said Holmgren, who added five assists, two steals and four blocked shots. “Just knowing that in the event of a game 7, it’s always going to be at home. We saw that in the playoffs last year twice, so it’s extremely important.”
“It’s great to see that the hard work has paid off in one way, and now we’ve got more to do,” Holmgren said.
The Thunder’s win means the surging San Antonio Spurs are locked into the second seed in the West.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images
San Antonio cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers 112-101, despite the absence of superstar Victor Wembanyama — who sat out with a bruised rib — and Stephon Castle.
De’Aaron Fox scored 25 points to lead a balanced Spurs attack. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points off the bench and rookie reserve Carter Bryant contributed 17.
The Denver Nuggets tightened their grip on third place in the West, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 136-119 behind a triple-double of 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists from Nikola Jokic.
Three-time MVP Jokic posted his 34th triple-double of the season, the 198th of his career, to help Denver win their 10th straight game — their first double-digit winning streak in his time with the team.
Jamal Murray scored 26 points to lead eight Nuggets players to score in double figures as Denver edged further ahead of the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers for the third seed.
The Detroit Pistons, the Eastern Conference top seeds, welcomed star guard Cade Cunningham back to action with a 137-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Cunningham, who had missed 11 games with a collapsed lung, scored 13 points and handed out 10 assists in just under 26 minutes on court.
Jalen Duren scored 21 points to lead the Pistons, who had seven players score in double figures.
The Pistons have locked up the top seed and home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the return of Cunningham and teammate Isaiah Stewart, sidelined since March 13 with a calf strain, was a welcome opportunity to build their fitness before the playoffs start on April 18.
“There is no way to replicate NBA basketball,” Bickerstaff said.
In Cleveland, Ohio, Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, while Evan Mobley added 22 points and 19 rebounds, and James Harden chipped in 21 points as the Cavaliers held off the Atlanta Hawks 122-116, denying the Hawks’ bid to clinch a playoffs berth.
The Cavs, who notched a fourth straight win, are assured of a top-four seed in the East and are chasing the New York Knicks for third.
The Hawks are fifth in the East, but they are just 0.5 games ahead of the sixth-placed Toronto Raptors and could still slip into the play-in tournament that will see the seventh through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff spots.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 off the bench for Atlanta, who cut an 18-point fourth quarter deficit to two, but could get no closer.
The Orlando Magic kept their hopes of escaping the play-in alive with a fourth straight win, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 132-120, while the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-107.
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