EMBIID SITS AS 76ERS WIN EIGHTH IN A ROW

After eight straight wins to end the regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers are set for their first play-in tournament.

Joel Embiid expects to be along for the ride.

Embiid sat out Philadelphia’s 107-86 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday as a precaution, two days after he tweaked his surgically repaired left knee.

Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points and Tobias Harris had 21 points to lead the Sixers.

CLIFFORD EXITS WITH WIN

Nick Smith Jr. scored a season-high 24 points and Steve Clifford was victorious in his coaching farewell as the Charlotte Hornets rallied to beat the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers 120-110 on Sunday.

Max Strus had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his first career triple-double for Cleveland.

Georges Niang scored 16 points for Cleveland. Niang became the first Cavaliers player to appear in all 82 games since LeBron James did so in 2017-18.

The 62-year-old Clifford, who likely will remain with the franchise as an adviser, has spent seven total seasons with Charlotte, including the past two, and is its career leader in games coached (574) and wins (244).

THUNDER ARE NO. 1 SEED

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points in one half of action, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Dallas Mavericks 135-86 on Sunday to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Oklahoma City finished with the same 57-25 record as Denver but own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets.

The Thunder hadn’t finished as the top seed in the West since the 2012-13 season.

The Thunder have won five in a row.