What a way to close the regular NBA season before the play-in tournament and playoffs with last night’s NBA games. Beginning with the Timberwolves’ victory against the Pelicans in their first meeting. Thunder defeated the Grizzlies in their matchup to go to the play-in tournament.
Suns vs. Clippers was a close game, but the Clippers prevailed and advanced to the playoffs. Mavericks vs. Spurs: Spurs defeated Mavs by a significant margin. However, it is now a wrap for both sides.
The Nuggets defeated the Kings in their matchup, and they will now face the second club to win the play-in round and advance to the playoffs. Jazz vs. Lakers, where the Lakers cruised to a victory over Jazz and advanced as the seventh seed in the Western Conference to the postseason.
It was a great matchup between the Warriors and the Trail Blazers. Whereas, on Sunday, the Warriors destroyed the Trail Blazers in their regular-season finale to clinch the sixth spot in the Western Conference. So, let’s move toward all the highlights and results from last night’s NBA games and survey every detail.
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NBA Games Last Night
Minnesota Timberwolves vs New Orleans Pelicans (113-108)
After losing two starters to anger management issues throughout the game, Minnesota defeated New Orleans 113-108 on Sunday, passing the Pelicans in the play-in tournament seeding. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 26 points, 13 rebounds, four steals, and four blocks.
Late in the second quarter, Rudy Gobert punched teammate Kyle Anderson and was later dismissed from the game when star defender Jaden McDaniels injured his right hand while pounding a wall in anger. For the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram finished with 42 points and 12 rebounds after outscoring the Wolves on his own by a score of 21-18 in the opening frame. Trey Murphy III had 20 points, and C.J. McCollum added 23.
Yet the Timberwolves overcame a 14-point hole because of Karl-Anthony Towns’ 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Taurean Prince’s 18 points off the bench.
The eighth-placed Minnesota Timberwolves (42-40) will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers (43-39), who came in seventh, on Tuesday night in the play-in round. The victor receives a first-round game against Memphis and the No. 7 seed.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Oklahoma City Thunder (100-115)
Tre Mann concluded the game with 24 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists. He also recorded his first triple-double. and they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies by the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-100 on Sunday to wrap out the regular season for both groups.
For the Thunder, who finished with a 40-42 record after going 24-58 the previous year, Jared Butler scored a career-high 25 points, while Olivier Sarr contributed 22 points and a career-best 15 rebounds.
For Memphis, Kenneth Lofton Jr. had a career-high 42 points and 14 rebounds. Ziaire Williams added career-highs of 24 points and nine assists. The Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 68-51 in the second half while shooting 56.5% overall.
As the Thunder prepared for the Play-In game on Wednesday, the first postseason action for the team since 2020, they energized fans at the Paycom Center. Before the game, Thunder players signed autographs. Despite the fact that the audience was aware the game would not have an impact on the rankings, the seats were mostly filled.
Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns (119-114)
For the Clippers, Norman Powell, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook each scored 25 points. Sunday’s 119-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns gave the Los Angeles Clippers the fifth seed in the Western Conference after they overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit.
Leonard led the Clippers with 12 points in the fourth quarter, scoring the team’s final eight points while shooting 11 of 21 from the floor, pulling down 15 rebounds, and dishing out six assists.
Westbrook scored two three-pointers in his 25 points with seven rebounds and nine assists. While Powell continued his impressive form off the bench, shooting 12-of-22 for 29 points with five rebounds.
Despite this, the Suns made a strong effort. Led by guard Saben Lee’s 25 points, 10 assists, and 3-of-8 three-point shooting.
Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs (117-138)
On Sunday afternoon, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks 138-117. With 25, Jaden Hardy led all scorers for Dallas. For the Spurs, Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 23 points as part of a team effort that saw eight players reach double figures.
After one quarter, Dallas was down 42-14, the largest first-quarter deficit in team history. Dallas scored 45 points in the second quarter of this awful contest. Hardy scored a stunning 21 points in the period by effortlessly getting to the rim. Dallas managed to cut the Spurs’ lead to 16 points before halftime, making the final score 71-59.
The third quarter saw Dallas pick up where they left off, and Theo Pinson’s brilliant play helped the Mavericks close the gap to just a few points. For the remainder of the period, though, the Spurs just dominated Dallas with talent, extending their advantage back to as much as 20. Our blue team was behind 108-91 when the season’s last quarter began.
The fourth quarter technically had more basketball play. Yet it made no difference, and soon it was over. The Mavericks’ campaign has ended. That came to a disappointing conclusion. The organization deserves a last game like this. Here are three conclusions.
Denver Nuggets vs Sacramento Kings (109-95)
The Denver Nuggets overcame a 17-point first-quarter deficit to upset the Sacramento Kings 109-95 on Sunday. Thanks in part to a team-high 21 points from Bruce Brown and six assists from Zeke Nnaji.
Denver stopped a late-season losing streak in which it had dropped five of its previous six games with the victory. It has a 34-7 home record, which is the second-best record in the league. And 53 wins at the end of the regular season, which is tied for the fifth-most victories in franchise NBA history.
Sacramento scored six of their first seven 3-pointers to make it 24-10 at the start of the game and 43-26 at the end. Nevertheless, the Nuggets bounced back. Gaining their first lead of the day with a pair of DeAndre Jordan free throws with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, their margin of victory increased to 18.
In the final three-quarters of the game. The Kings, who entered as the NBA’s top-scoring team, shot just 35% of their shots. Barnes concluded the game with a team-high 17 points despite sitting out the final 24 minutes.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz (128-117)
The Los Angeles Lakers won their final regular-season game 128-117 behind 36 points by LeBron James. Helping them advance as the seventh seed in the Western Conference and into the semifinals.
In Sunday’s victory over the Utah Jazz, the Lakers star made eight 3-pointers while Anthony Davis finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Lakers, improved their roster at the trade deadline and went 18-9. Saw D’Angelo Russell score 17 points for them.
In addition to Kelly Olynyk’s 23 points, Kris Dunn had 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists for the Jazz, who finished with their ninth loss in 11 games to cap up their first regular season without a postseason appearance in seven years. For Utah, which was without its top three scorers due to injuries and rest, Simone Fontecchio added 20 points.
In the third quarter, Jazz rookie Ochai Agbaji was dismissed after allegedly shouting at a referee and throwing the ball at him too forcefully. Agbaji made 4 of 13 shots for 8 points.
Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trail Blazers (101-157)
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 157-101 in their regular-season finale on Sunday. Setting an NBA record in the process and clinching the sixth seed in the Western Conference. At the end of the first quarter, Golden State was up 55–27 and 84–53 at the break.
With 20 points, Klay Thompson moved into third place in NBA history for most 3-pointers made in a season with at least 300. Thompson also made the most 3-pointers of any player this season. Reaching 301 with six made in the season finale on Sunday.
Stephen Curry scored 26 points to lead the Warriors and added five three-pointers, five rebounds, and five assists. Jordan Poole led Golden State with 21 points and four rebounds, while Moses Moody added 25 points off the bench (44-38).
Skylar Mays, who had 21 points and 11 assists, paced Portland (33-49). In the Blazers’ final game of the season, Shaedon Sharpe scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out four assists. Jonathan Williams chipped in with 17 points.
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