(Los Angeles) The Clippers and Warriors needed to win the final game of the regular season to secure a direct NBA playoff berth, and they did on Sunday, leaving LeBron James’ Lakers to contest the dams.
In a particularly tight Western Conference, where five franchises were competing for places 5-9, the Warriors left no room for luck.
The Golden State franchise crushed the Portland Trail Blazers 157-101, breaking the record for most points scored in the first quarter, 55.
Stephen Curry scored 26 points, with a 5-of-10 3-point address. Three other players scored 20 or more points: Klay Thompson (20), Jordan Poole (21) and 20-year-old Moses Moody (25).
The Warriors finish behind the Los Angeles Clippers, who confirmed their fifth place by beating the Phoenix Suns (119-114), which they will also find in the first round of the playoffs.
Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook each scored 25 points, Norman Powell added 29, in an encounter also marred by a small altercation between teammates Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland, illustrating the tension experienced by the Clippers in this last game.
Despite their victory against the Utah Jazz (128-117), the LA Lakers will have to go through the play-offs to hope for the playoffs.
They will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans 113-108, in a game marked by an altercation between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson. During a timeout in the second quarter, the Frenchman punched his teammate, before players separated them.
Gobert was fired by his team as the Timberwolves lost 48-36, nearly four minutes from halftime.
The loser of the Lakers-Timberwolves playoff will face the winner of the other game between the Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder for one last chance to play the playoffs.
All NBA franchises played on Sunday, but in the East the games had almost no stakes, with each team already assured of their place.
The Sixers and the Nets, however, offered a taste of the series that awaits them in the 1st round of the playoffs. Without Joel Embiid and James Harden, who were rested, the Sixers beat the Nets 134-106.
The game between the Hawks and the Celtics, which could also be a playoff 1st round series depending on the play-off result, ended in a 120-114 win for Boston, despite the absences of stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown .
Already guaranteed to finish with the best record in the NBA (58 wins, 24 losses), the Milwaukee Bucks, without Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Khris Middleton (knee), lost their last game against the Raptors (121-105) .
Qualifiers: Milwaukee Bucks (no 1), Boston Celtics (no 2), Philadelphia Sixers (no 3), Cleveland Cavaliers (no 4), New York Knicks (no 5) and Brooklyn Nets (no 6)
Barragistes: Miami Heat (No. 7), Atlanta Hawks (No. 8), Toronto Raptors (No. 9) and Chicago Bulls (No. 10)
Qualifiers: Denver Nuggets (No. 1), Memphis Grizzlies (No. 2), Sacramento Kings (No. 3), Phoenix Suns (No. 4), L.A. Clippers (No. 5), Golden State Warriors (No. 6)
Barriers: LA Lakers (No. 7), Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 8), New Orleans Pelicans (No. 9), Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 10)