Golden State is in the playoffs. LeBron James goes to the play-in tournament. And the Minnesota Timberwolves lost Rudy Gobert in a fight with a teammate and then won a fight to improve their playoff hopes.
The last day of the NBA season was predictably wild – with plenty of unpredictable elements as well.
It took the 1,230th and final game of the year to become final, but the Western Conference playoffs and play-in rounds have finally been set, culminating in the Los Angeles Clippers and defending champion Golden State Warriors a few days getting off knowing they’re officially in the postseason.
The Clippers defeated Phoenix to clinch the number 5 seed – and a first-round matchup with Phoenix. Golden State had its highest scoring game in nearly 33 years en route to defeating Portland 157-101 and clinching the No. 6 seed, earning the Warriors an automatic berth in the playoffs and a first-round matchup with Sacramento.
Golden State led by a whopping 59 in that game, the largest lead by any team all season.
“Of course we play against Sacramento. They’re a great team, they’ve had a great season and it’s going to take everything to beat them four times, especially when they start on the road,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry. “But we like the opportunity before us.”
James and the No. 7 — for now — the Los Angeles Lakers will have two chances to get into the playoffs, starting with Tuesday’s play-in game against No. 8 Minnesota. If the Lakers lose that game, they will get another shot on Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 9 New Orleans and No. 10 Oklahoma City.
“It’s just good for us not to have to travel,” James said after the Lakers finished their regular season with a home win over Utah. “We have been traveling a lot lately. It’s good that we stay here, but we shouldn’t feel comfortable. We have to stay sharp.”
The Lakers-Timberwolves winner gets No. 2 Memphis in Round 1; the winner of Friday’s West play-in game will begin the playoffs next Sunday at No. 1 Denver.
No team in the West since the All-Star break has a better record than the Lakers, who went 16-7 over the stretch — even as James was sidelined with injury for about half that game.
Minnesota closed out the No. 8 seed (and two playoff chances) by holding off New Orleans 113-108.
It was the last game to finish in the league this season, although it ended early for Gobert. He threw a punch at Kyle Anderson – his teammate – after heated words during a first half timeout, did not return in the game, and Minnesota also lost Jaden McDaniels to a right hand injury after appearing to slam into a wall.
“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the second quarter incident,” Timberwolves chairman Tim Connelly said in a post-game statement. “His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue to deal with the situation internally.”
There seemed to be rapid progress on that front, with Wolves veteran Mike Conley suggesting the team is ready to move on.
“We’re going to need all of us,” Conley said.
Gobert also chimed in on Sunday night, tweeting: “Emotions have taken over today. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did regardless of what was said. I want to apologize to the fans, the organization and especially to Kyle, someone I really love and respect as a teammate.”
If the Timberwolves lost that game, they would have been the number 9 from the west. There were 16 possible ways the 5-6-7-8-9 seeds could have gone on Sunday’s West disc — and the Pelicans had a shot at finishing as high as No. 5. Instead, they settled for No. 9.
The Eastern Conference post-season matchups were all set for Sunday. No. No. 7 Miami will play No. 8 Atlanta on Tuesday and No. 9 Toronto will play No. 10 Chicago on Wednesday. The Heat-Hawks winner advances to No. 2 Boston in Round 1; the Raptors-Bulls winner will play the Heat-Hawks loser on Friday for a shot at No. 1 Milwaukee in the opening round.
No. No. 3 Philadelphia plays No. 6 Brooklyn and No. 4 Cleveland meets No. 5 New York.
FIRST ROUND OPENERS
The Brooklyn-Philadelphia series begins Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern. For the rest of Saturday’s schedule, the Heat-Hawks winner has a visit to Boston, then New York to Cleveland and finally Golden State to visit Sacramento.
The Clippers-Suns series kicks off next Sunday, as do the Denver, Milwaukee and Memphis matchups.
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