Thunder thwart Mavericks, lock up No. 1 seed in West
Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 15 points in one half as host Oklahoma City routed Dallas 135-86 on Sunday to clinch the No. 1 seed for the Western Conference playoffs.
The Thunder finished with the same 57-25 record as Denver but own the tiebreaker. Oklahoma City hadn’t gained the top seed since 2012-13.
Dallas, locked into the No. 5 seed and a first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, rested four starters.
The Thunder entered the day in a threeway tie with the Nuggets and Minnesota for the West’s best record. It was the first time three teams entered the final day of a season tied for a conference lead.
Oklahoma City, which led 82-41 at halftime, must wait for the play-in tournament’s conclusion to learn its firstround foe.
■ Suns 125, Timberwolves 106: At Minneapolis, Bradley Beal scored 36 points for Phoenix, which stayed out of the playin tournament and will play at Minnesota to open the playoffs. The Timberwolves went 0-3 against the Suns this season.
■ Magic 113, Bucks 88: At Orlando, Fla., Paolo Banchero scored 26 points for Orlando, which avoided the play-in tournament and will open the playoffs at Cleveland. Milwaukee fell to third in the East and will host Indiana.
■ Knicks 120, Bulls 119, OT: At New York, Jalen Brunson had 40 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for New York, which claimed the East’s No. 2 playoff seed. Chicago will host Atlanta in a play-in game.
■ Lakers 124, Pelicans 108: At New Orleans, Lebron James had 28 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals for Los Angeles, which claimed the West’s eighth seed and will open the playoffs at New Orleans.
■ Nuggets 126, Grizzlies 111: At Memphis, Tenn., Jamal Murray scored 21 points for Denver (57-25), which matched a franchise high for wins and secured the West’s No. 2 playoff seed.
■ Pacers 157, Hawks 115: At Indianapolis, Myles Turner scored 31 points for Indiana, which shot 65.0 percent and avoided falling into the play-in tournament.
■ Kings 121, Trail Blazers 82: At Sacramento, Calif., De’aaron Fox scored 24 points for Sacramento, which will host Golden State in the play-in tournament.
■ Spurs 123, Pistons 95: At San Antonio, Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 18 points for San Antonio (22-60). Detroit (14-68) finished with its worst record.
■ Hornets 120, Cavaliers 110: At Cleveland, Nick Smith Jr. scored 24 points for Charlotte, which won in Steve Clifford’s final game as coach.
■ Warriors 123, Jazz 116: At San Francisco, Klay Thompson scored 25 points for Golden State, which won for the fourth time in five games.
■ Rockets 116, Clippers 105: At Los Angeles, Amen Thompson had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Houston, which finished 41-41.
■ Celtics 132, Wizards 122: At Boston, Payton Pritchard scored 38 points for Boston (64-18), which rested its entire starting lineup.
■ 76ers 107, Nets 86: At Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points for Philadelphia, which gained a play-in tournament berth.
■ Heat 118, Raptors 103: At Miami, Thomas Bryant had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which dealt Toronto its 19th loss in 21 games.