The Los Angeles Clippers had to battle into overtime on the final day of the NBA regular season to lock in their playoff spot — and in doing so, pushed the Golden State Warriors into the play-in tournament.
Sunday’s dramatic 124-119 overtime victory over Golden State not only secured the No. 5 seed for the Clippers but also marked their eighth consecutive win, closing the regular season with a 50-32 record. James Harden led the way with a standout performance, scoring 39 points while adding 10 assists and seven rebounds. His All-Star-level play capped off a strong season and gave the Clippers the edge they needed.
“People need to know — we’re a good team,” Harden told ESPN in a postgame interview. “We’re excited to prove that.”
Had Golden State won, the playoff picture would’ve looked very different, dropping the Clippers to seventh and changing the entire Western Conference bracket. Instead, the Warriors now sit in the No. 7 spot and will host the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, with the winner securing the No. 7 seed.
The final day of the season brought chaos to the Western Conference seeding, as multiple teams were still jockeying for position beneath the top three of Oklahoma City, Houston, and the Lakers. The Denver Nuggets managed to lock in the No. 4 seed by defeating Houston 126-111, securing home-court advantage in the first round against the Clippers. Denver’s win came after a tumultuous week that saw both head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth dismissed.
The Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers all finished with identical 50-32 records, but tiebreakers placed Los Angeles in the No. 3 spot — giving them their first postseason series at home since 2012.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves narrowly avoided the play-in tournament altogether. A 116-105 win over the Jazz, led by Anthony Edwards’ 43 points, earned them the No. 6 seed. Edwards emphasized to his team just how important it was to avoid the added risk and fatigue of the play-in format.
“We didn’t want to deal with that,” Edwards said. “I’ve been there before. We want a full week to lock in for the playoffs.”
Golden State, on the other hand, missed the chance to bypass the play-in. A win would have vaulted them to the No. 6 seed, setting up another high-profile series between Stephen Curry and LeBron James. Now, they’ll have to regroup quickly, with only two days to reset.
Despite the setback, Warriors forward Jimmy Butler expressed confidence in the team’s resilience.
“We still control our destiny,” he said. “We’ll be just fine.”
Elsewhere in the West, the Kings finished in ninth and the Mavericks tenth. They’ll face off Wednesday in Sacramento, and the winner will have to defeat the loser of the Warriors-Grizzlies matchup to earn a shot at the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Unlike the unpredictable West, the Eastern Conference standings were already locked in heading into Sunday. Cleveland earned the No. 1 seed, with Boston at No. 2. Both teams will wait to see who emerges from the East’s play-in games.
New York, seeded third, is set to face sixth-seeded Detroit, while No. 4 Indiana will go up against No. 5 Milwaukee.
The Orlando Magic grabbed the No. 7 seed and will host Atlanta on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to face Boston. The loser will play the winner of the No. 9 Chicago vs. No. 10 Miami matchup for a second chance at making the playoffs.
This season also marked a rare feat, with nine teams finishing with 50 wins or more — the most since the 2014-15 season when ten teams hit that milestone. Among them were the Pacers, who edged out Cleveland in double overtime to also finish 50-32.
