The 2024-25 NBA regular season reached a thrilling conclusion on Sunday, deciding on the playoff seed for the final game, where the game is important. The Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets all rounded out postseason spots, but the Golden State Warriors were pushed into the play-in tournament after a loss in the high stakes.
The Clippers overtake the warriors of the OT thriller
The Clippers sealed the No. 5 seed in a dramatic 124–119 overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors in the final regular season game. James Harden led the charge with 39 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, leading the Clippers to eight consecutive wins and a 50-32 record. The result was that the Warriors were dropped to 7th place and set up a do-or-die play-in matchup.
“We’re a good team and we’re excited to show the world.”Arden said in a post-match interview with ESPN. His dominant performance hampered a big seed flip. If Golden State had won, LA would have fallen to play-in.
The Clippers face the fourth seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round. Also, Denver, 50-32, gained a home court advantage via tiebreakers after beating Houston 126-111. The victory was a moment of steadyness after a chaotic week in which Nuggets bid farewell with manager Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
Timberwolves avoid playing with Edwards heroes
The Timberwolves were locked up in the No. 6 seed with a 116-105 victory over the Utah Jazz. Anthony Edwards scored 43 points, highlighting the importance of avoiding play-in tournaments.
“We don’t want to play in play-in, we want to be fully prepared for that week,” Edwards said, leading the floor example. Minnesota will face the third seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round.
The Lakers, Nuggets and Clippers were all finished with identical 50-32 records, but LA held a head-to-head tiebreaker to claim the best seed since 2012.
Full Western Conference First Round Match Up
- (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. TBD (Play-in winner between 9/10 8 and the winner)
- (2) Houston Rockets vs. TBD (Winners for play-in between 7 and 8)
- (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
- (4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers
Western Conference Play-in Match Up
- (7) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies – Tuesday, April 15th
The winner will be the 7th seed and face the rocket. The loser will again play in 8th place. - (9) Sacramento Kings vs. (10) Dallas Mavericks – Wednesday, April 16th
The winners play the losers and the Grizzlies losers in the final playoff spot.
Sacramento hosts the Mavericks. The winner must defeat the Warriors Grizzlies losers to secure a series against the 1st Thunder.
The Eastern Conference has been locked up
Unlike the west, there was no confusion on the last day in the east. The playoff field was already set before Sunday’s game.
- (1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. TBD
- (2) Boston Celtics vs. TBD
- (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Detroit Piston
- (4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Milwaukee Bucks
Eastern Conference Play-in Match Up
- (7) Orlando Magic vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks – Tuesday, April 15th
The winner moves forward to face the Celtics. The loser plays again. - (9) Chicago Bulls vs. (10) Miami Heat – Wednesday, April 16th
The winners face the Magic Hawks losers for the final playoff berth.
Looking ahead
The Play-In Tournament will be held from April 15th to 18th. The first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs will begin on Saturday, April 19th. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 5th, with Game 7 available on June 22nd.
The postseason promises high-drama when a playoff seed is set and stars like James Harden and Anthony Edwards appear in the form of peaks. And with power plant matches already locked in, like the Lakers vs. Timberwolves and Nuggets vs. Clippers, the path to the final starts with fireworks.
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