The Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers remain locked in a battle for the final two assured playoff berths in the NBA Western Conference.
All three notched victories on Wednesday night, leaving the Blazers (41-29) in fifth place, the Mavericks (41-29) in sixth and the Lakers (40-30) in seventh as each team now has two games left to play in the regular season. The Blazers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas, pushing them up to fifth.
With their one-game lead over the Lakers, the Blazers can clinch at least sixth place with one more victory or one Lakers loss.
The top six teams in the West will clinch playoff spots, while the seventh through 10th place teams will head to a play-in tournament to determine the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds. The regular season ends Sunday.
Elsewhere in the West, the New Orleans Pelicans were eliminated from postseason contention with their 125-107 loss to the Mavericks. San Antonio lost 128-116 at Brooklyn, but the 10th-place Spurs are still two games ahead of the Sacramento Kings in the race for the final play-in spot.
Heres a look at the Western Conference playoff race through Wednesdays games:
WEDNESDAYS SCORES
Brooklyn 128, San Antonio 116
Dallas 125, New Orleans 107
Portland 105, Utah 98
L.A. Lakers 124, Houston 122
WEST STANDINGS
| Western Conference | W-L | GB |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Utah Jazz | 50-20 | — |
| 2. Phoenix Suns | 48-21 | 1.5 |
| 3. Los Angeles Clippers | 46-23 | 3.5 |
| 4. Denver Nuggets | 45-24 | 4.5 |
| 5. Portland Trail Blazers | 41-29 | 9 |
| 6. Dallas Mavericks | 41-29 | 9 |
| ———————— | ||
| 7. Los Angeles Lakers | 40-30 | 10 |
| 8. Golden State Warriors | 37-33 | 13 |
| 9. Memphis Grizzlies | 36-33 | 13.5 |
| 10. San Antonio Spurs | 33-36 | 16.5 |
| ———————— | ||
| Sacramento Kings | 31-38 | 18.5 |
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY …
West matchups
(1) Utah vs. No. 8 seed
(2) Phoenix vs. No. 7 seed
(3) L.A. Clippers vs. (6) Dallas
(4) Denver vs. (5) Portland
IF THE PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY …
Game 1: (7) L.A. Lakers vs. (8) Golden State. Winner earns No. 7 seed for playoffs; loser plays winner of 9-10 matchup
Game 2: (9) Memphis vs. (10) San Antonio. Winner advances to play loser of 7-8 matchup; loser eliminated
Game 3: L.A. Lakers-Golden State loser vs. Memphis-San Antonio winner. Winner earns No. 8 seed for playoffs; loser eliminated
THURSDAYS GAMES
(all times Pacific)
L.A. Clippers at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
San Antonio at New York, 4:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Portland at Phoenix, 7 p.m. (TV on TNT, NBCSNW)
REMAINING OPPONENTS
Utah: at Oklahoma City, at Sacramento
Phoenix: vs. Portland, at San Antonio, at San Antonio
L.A. Clippers: at Charlotte, at Houston, at Oklahoma City
Denver: at Minnesota, at Detroit, at Portland
Portland: at Phoenix, vs. Denver
Dallas: vs. Toronto, at Minnesota
L.A. Lakers: at Indiana, at New Orleans
Golden State: vs. New Orleans, vs. Memphis
Memphis: vs. Sacramento, vs. Sacramento, at Golden State
San Antonio: at New York, vs. Phoenix, vs. Phoenix
Sacramento: at Memphis, at Memphis, vs. Utah