Defending champions Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers have secured the two remaining direct playoff tickets in an exciting final main round game day in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers meet the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-ins and are also qualified if they win in the German night on Wednesday. The Warriors went 157-101 at the Portland Trail Blazers and set an NBA record with 55 points in the first quarter. The Clippers struggled against the Phoenix Suns for a long time, but ultimately won 119-114 and finished fifth in the main round in the world’s best basketball league, ahead of the Warriors.
Lakers win
With a 128:117 win against the Utah Jazz, the Lakers secured seventh place in the Western Conference and home advantage in the play-in duel with the Timberwolves. The loser of that game meets the winner of the New Orleans Pelicans vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game and has another shot at a playoff ticket. The Lakers would also have home advantage in this game on Saturday night. Whether national team captain Dennis Schröder will be available to the Lakers in the play-in is open. After neck problems last Friday, he was absent on Sunday with problems in the Achilles tendon.
The games in the Eastern Conference were irrelevant for the playoff places and the play-in. The 134:105 of the Philadelphia 76ers against the Brooklyn Nets therefore had no meaning before the renewed duel in the first round of the playoffs.
At 113:108 in the direct duel between the Timberwolves and the Pelicans, there was a dispute between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson. Gobert hit after his team-mate and, according to media reports, was then sent home by the Timberwolves during the ongoing encounter. It was questionable whether he would be allowed to play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday (local time). The Pelicans still had theoretical chances of fifth place and a direct playoff ticket before the last game day and slipped back to ninth place because of the bankruptcy.
