Playoff field set; 19 seeds unclear
The last week of the NBA season has arrived. With no games Monday — the league typically tries to not play on the night of the NCAA men's championship game — the schedule resumes Tuesday with 14 games, 13 of which have at least some form of playoff implications.
The big game Tuesday: A likely play-in tournament preview with Golden State visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, a meeting of teams with championship pedigree that could meet next week in an elimination game.
This week is all about playoff positioning. In the East, Milwaukee, Orlando, New York and Cleveland will likely finish second through fifth in some order. In the West, Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City will almost certainly finish 1-2-3 — again, in some order — and the Los Angeles Clippers seemed to be almost locked into the No. 4 spot.
The only seed that has been locked up is East No. 1, which Boston wrapped up weeks ago.
Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City have clinched playoff spots in the Western Conference. Boston and Milwaukee have clinched spots from the Eastern Conference.
There will be 20 teams still in the race for the Larry O'brien Trophy when the regular season ends Sunday, and those 20 slots are already claimed — with Chicago and Atlanta certain to be in the play-in tournament next week.
As of now, Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans, Sacramento, the Lakers and Golden State also hold what would be the play-in spots.
Brooklyn, Toronto, Charlotte, Washington, Detroit, Houston, Utah, Memphis, Portland and the Spurs have been eliminated from all postseason contention.
Lakers stumble minus two stars
Lebron James was sitting out and Anthony Davis exited early from the Lakers' 127-117 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
James stayed home with flu-like symptoms, missing his 11th game of his 21st NBA season. Davis then went to the locker room after getting hit in the face by Kyle Anderson late in the first quarter.
Sunday’s highlights
Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 48 points, Dante Exum forced overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and the Dallas Mavericks rallied from 22 points down for a 147-136 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday. The Rockets were eliminated from postseason contention, allowing Golden State to clinch a spot in the playin tournament. … Paul George scored 23 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, James Harden added 22 and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 26-point deficit to beat Cleveland 120-118 for their 50th victory. … Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and New York surged in the second half to beat Milwaukee 122-109 and hand the Bucks their fourth consecutive loss.