The Oklahoma City Thunder have clinched the West's first seed for a month now. That's unsurprising considering they've held a double-digit game lead in the standings for most of the season. But let's look at the rest of the West playoff picture.
The short-handed Thunder enjoyed a 145-111 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday. Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe each scored 30-plus points and Jaylin Williams had another triple-double.
Less than a week remains in the 2024-25 regular season. Even though the Thunder aren't involved, plenty of heated races for seeding have ramped up as the margin for error gets thinner. Thunder Wire will conduct daily updates on the West's standings until the season ends:
What happened last night?
Mavericks 124, Raptors 102: Deadlocked in the play-in tournament, the Mavericks enjoyed an easy win over the tanking Raptors. Anthony Davis had a 23-point triple-double. He almost recorded a rare quadruple-double with seven blocks.
Timberwolves 117, Nets 91: In a deja vu case, the Timberwolves picked up a win over the Nets but with a cost. Anthony Edwards avoided missing time when he sprained his ankle running into Jordi Fernandez but a 16th technical foul will be difficult to overcome as he will likely be suspended for Minnesota's season finale.
Nuggets 117, Grizzlies 109: Another loss has put the Grizzlies in the play-in tournament. They've had an awful month highlighted by Taylor Jenkins' firing and Ja Morant getting fined. The Nuggets also fired their head coach as Nikola Jokic has had a brilliant year. He had 26 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists in this critical win.
Thunder 145, Jazz 111: Sitting out their best seven players, the Thunder's bench still cruised to an easy win over the Jazz's bench. Utah also sat out all its top players but for different motivations to get the NBA's worst record. Aaron Wiggins had 35 points and Isaiah Joe had 32 points. Jaylin Williams tallied a 15-point triple-double.
Warriors 103, Trail Blazers 86: The Warriors picked up another much-needed win over a Trail Blazers squad that has mailed it in for the rest of the season. Portland sat out its best players. Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler had 24 points and seven assists.
Clippers 101, Kings 100: Hoping to draw a foul, DeMar DeRozan's 3-point attempt badly missed at the buzzer. The Clippers avoided disaster. LA has likely avoided the play-in tournament barring disaster with a seven-game win streak. Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points while James Harden had a 23-point triple-double.
Lakers 140, Rockets 109: Locked at the second seed, the Rockets punted this game with several starters out. Meanwhile, the Lakers played theirs and enjoyed an easy win. Luka Doncic led the way with 39 ...
