Oklahoma first in the NBA West – Suns make direct playoff qualification
The Oklahoma City Thunder secured first place in the Western Conference on the last day of the NBA's main round. In the three-way battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves and defending champion Denver Nuggets, OKC's 135:86 win against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday (local time) was enough to defend its top position and home advantage in the playoffs.
The Mavericks rested all of their regular players around Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Maxi Kleber in the game. The team was already safely fifth and will face the Los Angeles Clippers led by Daniel Theis in the playoffs. The world champion had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the 105:116 win against the Houston Rockets.
Second place in the Western Conference went to the Nuggets around Nikola Jokic. The defending champions won 126:111 against the Memphis Grizzlies and climbed one place because the Timberwolves lost their home game against the Phoenix Suns 106:125. The Suns secured sixth place and direct participation in the playoffs at the last opportunity.
There it will be against the Timberwolves again in a maximum of seven games. Because the New Orleans Pelicans lost 108:124 at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, the team slipped to seventh place and will have to compete again against the record champions around superstar LeBron James in the play-in on Tuesday.
In the play-in duel between the teams in ninth and tenth place, the Sacramento Kings defended their right to host the game on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. The Kings won 121:82 against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Warriors' 123:116 against the Utah Jazz was not enough for Steph Curry's team to get past the Kings.
World champions Franz and Moritz Wagner are in the NBA playoffs for the first time in their careers. With the Orlando Magic, the pair of brothers from Berlin won 113:88 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday and finished the main round of the best basketball league in the world in fifth place. After three defeats in a row, the tight table was in danger of slipping to eighth place and the play-in on the last main round matchday. Franz Wagner scored 25 points, his brother Moritz scored ten. The Magic will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.
The Bucks again had to do without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and slipped to third place in the Eastern Conference as a result of the defeat. The champions from three years ago had to be overtaken by the New York Knicks, who won 120:119 against the Chicago Bulls after overtime in a hard-fought game. Isaiah Hartenstein's team secured home advantage in the first round and will face the winner of the play-in duel between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat. The Bucks face the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
The Cleveland Cavaliers took fourth place, and the 110:120 defeat against the Charlotte Hornets didn't change that. The Indiana Pacers did their job with a 157:116 win against the Atlanta Hawks and secured sixth place. Despite the 107:86 win against the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia has to go into the play-in against Miami on Wednesday (local time). The loser of this game gets a second chance against the winner of the Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks game. World champion Dennis Schröder was no longer used in the Nets' last game of the season.
The Boston Celtics had already secured first place for a long time, the 132:122 against the Washington Wizards didn't matter.
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