The Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors couldn’t let the chaotic race for Western Conference playoff seedings be unscrambled in regulation of their regular-season finale on Sunday.
They needed five more minutes, with the Clippers (50-32) winning 124-119 in overtime in San Francisco and securing the fifth seed and a playoff series against the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets (50-32) when the first round begins April 19.
The loss dropped the Warriors (48-34) to seventh place and a date with the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies (48-34) in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday in San Francisco. The winner becomes the West’s No. 7 seed in the playoffs.
Entering Sunday as teams played their 82nd games, the Eastern Conference seedings already were determined. Out West, however, only the top three seeds — the Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14), Houston Rockets (52-30) and Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) — had locked in seeding.
Fourth through 10th places were up for grabs, making for a wild day of scoreboard watching. For the first time since conferences were established in the 1970-71 season, three teams from one conference secured playoff berths on the last day of the regular season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) won 116-105 over the lowly Utah Jazz (league-worst 17-65) on Sunday to avoid the play-in and clinch the sixth spot and a first-round series with the Lakers.
The Dallas Mavericks (39-43), as the 10th and final team to keep playing in the West, visit the ninth-place Sacramento Kings (40-42) in the other play-in game on Wednesday. The loser is eliminated, and the winner plays Friday against the loser of the Grizzlies-Warriors to determine the West’s No. 8 seed.
The Nuggets, who won their last three games under interim head coach David Adelman, are the West’s fourth seed after beating the Rockets 126-111 on Sunday.
The No. 1 Thunder await the No. 8 play-in winner, and the No. 2 Rockets get the No. 7 winner.
Eastern Conference postseason teams already knew their assignments before Sunday, with the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks (40-42) visiting the seventh-place Orlando Magic (41-41) on Tuesday. The ninth-place Chicago Bulls (39-43) host the 10th-place Miami Heat (37-45) on Wednesday, with the loser eliminated.
The Hawks and Magic have split their four meetings this season, including Sunday when host Atlanta won 117-105 in a game played mainly by reserves.
The winner Tuesday in Orlando becomes the East’s No. 7 seed and will face the second-seeded Boston Celtics (61-21) in the opening round.
The Hawks-Magic loser will face the winner of Heat-Bulls to advance as the East’s No. 8 seed and meet the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18) in Round 1.
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).
–Field Level Media
