Category: NBA

The Golden State Warriors wrapped up their regular season on Sunday night, and it the result was emblematic of the season as a whole: a lot of notable players didn’t suit up, there was a little excitement, and ultimately it ended in defeat. This time it was a 115-110 loss to the LA Clippers, which put a rather unsightly bow on a 37-45 season.

It wasn’t the best effort for the Warriors, and that was by design. Not only did the team have nothing to play for other than rhythm — they’ve been locked into the No. 10 seed for a while now — but they knew going into the contest that their likely opponent in the first round of the play-in tournament would be this same Clippers squad. Which means that that didn’t want to ruin any secrets (not that there are many between Steve Kerr and Ty Lue, who have been battling for about a decade now).

So it wasn’t a surprise that Kerr opted to rest Draymond Green, while Lue sat Kawhi Leonard. Interestingly, Kerr used Steph Curry more than any other player, as the team’s superstar had a dress rehearsal for playing heavy minutes in Wednesday’s win-or-go-home affair. Curry played nearly 29 minutes, while Brandin Podziemski had the next heaviest usage, with 21:03 spent on the court.

Both teams played a high-effort contest that was lacking in strategy or game-planning, as neither squad wanted to give the other any extra information. The Warriors came out hot with an energy-fueled 10-4 start, but the Clippers went on a 6-0 run to tie the game as Golden State’s offense got sloppy. But the Dubs would respond with a 7-0 run of their own.

It had a bit of a pickup basketball feel, and Dub Nation held their collective breath as Podziemski left the game in visible pain and holding his leg. Thankfully, he returned in the second quarter.

The first quarter was far from the prettiest basketball that we’ve witnessed this season, but the pace was nice and it was an enjoyable watch. It got a little testy late in the frame, with Pat Spencer and Kobe Sanders getting into it a little bit. With the Warriors offense scuffling in a big way, Seth Curry bailed them out with a four-point play with just a few tenths of a second remaining, sending Golden State to the second quarter with a 26-25 advantage.

But the second quarter belonged to LA, as they started to execute well out of the gates, while the Warriors very much did not. That led to some hot shooting from the Clippers’ perimeter players, and suddenly it was a 43-33 lead for the home team. But Steph Curry returned to the court and fueled a gritty 7-0 run as the Warriors got right back in it.

Yet sometimes there are signs that it isn’t your game, and that occurred shortly after that run, when Steph was fouled shooting a three, and only made one free throw. It was ominous, and it helped spark an LA run that pushed the lead back to double-digits. But the Warriors ended the quarter on a high note, with Kristaps Porziņģis getting a stop on one end, and Podziemski draining a buzzer-beating three on the other. The Dubs trailed just 52-48 at the break.

The third quarter went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth some more. The Warriors hung right with the Clippers, never really losing touch, but certainly not taking control of the game, either. Curry went to the bench with about four minutes remaining and the game tied, and it seemed likely that his night was over. While the Clippers continued to dominate on the perimeter, Charles Bassey — who remains a revelation — was dominating in the paint, and going toe to toe with LA, almost single-handedly keeping the Warriors in the game. As a result, they trailed just 83-81 entering the fourth.

Bassey picked up where he left off in the final quarter, as he kept going strong. Unfortunately, none of his teammates could match that level of success, and on the other end, the Clippers suddenly couldn’t miss. LA quickly ran the lead back to double digits, and took total control of the game.

Curry did end up returning for a short stint in the fourth quarter, presumably to simulate the usage pattern he’ll have in Wednesday’s game. He didn’t do too much — and it seemed like he wasn’t trying to do too much — but he looked healthy and athletic and in game shape, and that’s really all anyone was looking for.

The Clippers controlled the game until the final buzzer, though the Warriors subs made it a close score of 115-110, even though the game didn’t feel at all up for grabs. Then again, the Warriors weren’t really trying to grab it, so who cares.

Curry led the Warriors with 24 points, while shooting 7-for-14 from the field and 4-for-9 on threes, with six rebounds and three assists. Bassey had 16 points off the bench on nearly-perfect 5-for-6 shooting, while going 6-for-8 on free throws. Porziņģis (12) and Podziemski (10) were the only other Warriors in double digits, as no one played much.

With the regular season now over, the Dubs will stay in Los Angeles and prepare for Wednesday’s game at the Intuit Dome. That game will be at 7:00 p.m. PT on Prime Video, with the loser being eliminated. The winner will travel to face the loser of Tuesday night’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns.

And just like that, the 2025-26 NBA regular season has come to an end. The Lakers battled injuries and are currently playing without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but thanks to some great games from LeBron James, they’ve managed to earn the fourth seed in the West. Now, they are set to play the Rockets in the first round.

Final 2025-2026 NBA Standings

Here are the final standings for each conference, with the play-in ultimately set to decide who will face the top two seeds in each. The No. 2 seed in each conference will play the winner of the 7-8 game, while the No. 1 seed will play the winner of the next game, between the loser of the 7-8 game and winner of the 9-10 game. 

*Eliminated teams in italics.

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Philadelphia 76ers (play-in)
8. Orlando Magic (play-in)
9. Charlotte Hornets (play-in)
10. Miami Heat (play-in)
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Brooklyn Nets
15. Washington Wizards

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Houston Rockets
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Phoenix Suns (play-in)
8. Portland Trail Blazers (play-in)
9. LA Clippers (play-in)
10. Golden State Warriors (play-in)
11. Memphis Grizzlies
12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Dallas Mavericks
14. Utah Jazz
15. Sacramento Kings

With Dončić and Reaves likely to miss most or all of the first round, the Lakers won’t be expected to go far this postseason. Even with key pieces missing, the Lakers still have LeBron, home court and a head coach in JJ Redick who will do everything he can to put LA in an advantageous situation.

Under Redick’s leadership, the Lakers have had back-to-back 50-win seasons, making them one of the most consistent teams in the West over the past two years.

Official 2026 NBA Lottery Odds

And with the 2025-26 NBA season behind us, here is the final lottery order (with their odds to get the No. 1 pick) for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 10.

1. Washington Wizards — top-8 protected (14%)
2. Brooklyn Nets (14%)
3. Indiana Pacers — pick goes to Clippers if it falls 5-9 (14%)
4. Sacramento (12.5%)
5. Utah — top-8 protected (10.5%)
6. Dallas (9%)
7. Hawks — via Pelicans (7.5%)
8. Memphis (6%)
9. Chicago (4.5%)
10. Milwaukee (3%)
11. Golden State (2%)
12. OKC — via Clippers (1.5%)
13. Miami (1%)
14. Memphis — via Orlando (0.5%)

Plenty of teams were tanking this season in what’s expected to be a deep draft class, but the Lakers weren’t one of them. Now the draft odds for the No. 1 pick are known and we’ll see which team gets to pick first when the NBA Draft Lottery is held on May. 10.

While the Lakers aren’t in the lottery, they will have a first round pick. They tied with the Knicks, so a coin flip will decide whether they select at No. 24 or 25.

However, the draft is something the franchise can focus on later. For now, the priority is to rest up as the play-in teams earn their spots in the playoffs and get ready for a battle with Houston next week.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Steve Kerr said it himself.

There wasn’t much for either team to glean from Sunday night’s regular-season finale between the Warriors and Clippers. The teams will meet again with far higher stakes in three days, meaning neither coach wanted to show his hand in a 115-110 loss to LA.

“Wednesday will be much different, for sure,” Kerr said before tipoff.

Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and Draymond Green (back) were both ruled out before tipoff, while the teams’ remaining rotation regulars mostly went through the motions for 48 minutes while their fates were determined by a game 1,500 miles up the coast in Portland.

Both players are expected to return to their starting lineups for Wednesday’s win-or-go-home rematch, which became official with the Trail Blazers’ 122-110 win over the Kings.

As expected, Steph Curry played his heaviest load of minutes since returning from a 27-game absence with a knee injury. He finished with 24 in 29 minutes, setting him to play as much as necessary with the Warriors’ season on the line Wednesday.

Without Green, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford both started alongside Curry, Brandin Podziemski and De’Anthony Melton in the Warriors’ 43rd different starting five of the season.

Porzingis missed all four 3s he attempted and finished with 12 points in 24 minutes. Horford was held to two field goals — one for 2 and one for 3 — for a quiet five points in 19 minutes. Both big men were outshined by Charles Bassey, who scored in double digits for the third straight game with 16.

“We know we’re going to have to put together a good four quarters on Wednesday,” Kerr said. “Tonight [was] another chance to make a step in that direction. But again, it’s different. It’s a different feeling when the result doesn’t matter.”

What it means

The Warriors finished the regular season 37-45, their second-worst record in 12 seasons under Kerr. Their only worse finish came in 2019-20, when Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant all missed most of the season.

Before the game, Kerr contrasted the two seasons.

“I think the expectations were higher for us this year than they were [in 2019-20] after losing Andre [Iguodala], Shaun Livingston, Kevin Durant. It’s a different vibe going into that year,” Kerr said. “This year I think the high hopes were there coming off last year’s run, having Jimmy [Butler] on our team. … When you see two guys go down midseason and it impacts not only this season but the next one, that’s about as tough as it gets. It for sure has been a very difficult season.”

Turning point

Trying to build chemistry in a group that hasn’t played together much, if at all, for the entire season, the Warriors survived two more injury scares with their regulars on the floor despite the outcome carrying little meaning.

After Curry rolled his ankle Friday in Sacramento, Podziemski was forced out of action early Sunday when he appeared to take a knee to his thigh on a drive to the hoop.

Podziemski, playing his 82nd game of the season, hobbled to the bench and received treatment. But he was quickly back in the game to finish a team-best plus-16 in 21 minutes.

Curry was also the recipient of a hard forearm from Benedict Mathurin as he attempted to back his way into the paint. The move sent Curry falling to the floor, clearly unpleased, and technical fouls were doled out to Gary Payton II and Mathurin for the brief scrum that followed.

MVP: Steph Curry

The best news for the Warriors from Sunday’s game was that Curry looked like himself after two quiet games and rolling his ankle their last time out. He lacked the theatrics of his 29-point performance in his first game back against the Rockets but turned in probably his best all-around effort.

Stat of the game: 99

The total number of minutes logged by Bassey, Nate Williams, Malevy Leons, Pat Spencer, Seth Curry and Will Richard. Some of the end-of-rotation players will factor into Wednesday’s game, but if their minutes come anything close to Sunday, the Warriors are in trouble.

The six players combined to post a minus-83.

Up next

The Warriors’ postseason push begins Wednesday.

Same opponent. Same venue. Different stakes.

They’ll have to beat the Clippers in Inglewood and win another elimination game on the road against either the No. 7 Suns or No. 8 Blazers to earn a date with the defending champion Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Hawks certainly didn’t try to avoid the Knicks.

They sat most of their starters in their 143-117 loss to the Heat on Sunday night in Miami, despite a win meaning they’d secure the No. 5 seed in the East and first-round matchup with the Cavaliers. With the loss (and a Raptors win, coupled with a Magic loss), the Hawks dropped down to the No. 6 seed, meaning a first-round matchup with the Knicks.

So, knowing a loss was likely without their main players, the Hawks made it clear they at the very least weren’t overly scared of the Knicks.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder claimed to be prioritizing health over matchup.

“Right now, I think we’re excited to be in this situation,” Snyder said ahead of the game. “Whoever we play is gonna be really good. It’s hard to even try to figure that out. It’s possible that certain teams wanna play us. The primary thing is for us to be healthy going into the postseason. That’s been the one thing that has been consistent the last few weeks and months — you don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’s hard to predict all these games, they’re all going on. Wherever it falls is where it falls, and we’ll prepare for the playoffs, regardless of who that is.”

For their own part, the Knicks didn’t seem bothered by it.

“We didn’t pay any attention to that,” Jordan Clarkson said. “It’s just what they wanted to do.”

Added Miles McBride: “Honestly, we just gotta focus on what we gotta do. I think whoever could’ve been the matchup, we’re focused on what we have to do as a team.”

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Sunday’s game meant nothing for the Knicks as a whole. But it was a bit meaningful for McBride.

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• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

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It was his last chance to re-find his shooting form ahead of the playoffs. McBride had struggled with his shot after returning from sports hernia surgery, which caused him to miss 28 games. In five games before Sunday’s 110-96 loss to the Hornets at Madison Square Garden, McBride shot just 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range.

But Sunday, McBride went 4-for-7 from deep, scoring 21 points overall in 24 minutes. As one of the only main players in the rotation playing, he had plenty of opportunity to get in a rhythm.

“He looked good,” coach Mike Brown said. “It was good to see him just go play free and take any shot he wanted and be aggressive … It was good to see the ball go in a few times.”

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OG Anunoby’s ankle injury doesn’t seem to be serious.

Brown said that Anunoby is day to day. Having already locked themselves into the No. 3 seed and with nothing to play for, the Knicks rested four of their five starters (Mikal Bridges started the game to preserve his consecutive games streak, then subbed out) Sunday, including Anunoby.

But it doesn’t sound like the injury will force Anunoby to miss any time in the playoffs.

Anunoby suffered the injury during the win over the Raptors at MSG on Friday.

The Warriors’ play-in matchup is set.

Golden State is staying in the Golden State.

After the Trail Blazers took care of business against the Kings on the final day of the NBA season, the No. 10 seed Warriors will play the No. 9 Clippers in their first play-in game.

The matchup was all but certain entering Sunday: A Portland team with real stakes on the line would have had to lose to a Sacramento squad trying to improve its lottery odds.

The bottom play-in game — set for 7 p.m. Wednesday — will be a rematch of the teams’ regular-season finale. Knowing the strong possibility of facing off again three days later, both teams rested players and generally played their cards close to the vest in a 115-110 Clippers victory.

In the words of Warriors coach Steve Kerr, “Wednesday will be much different, for sure.”

The loser’s season will come to an end. The winner will face a second play-in game Friday night on the road against whoever prevails between the No. 8 Blazers and No. 7 Suns on Tuesday.

No. 9 vs. No. 10 Western Conference play-in game

Date: Wednesday, April 15

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Intuit Dome; Inglewood

TV: Amazon Prime

Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers breakdown

Warriors projected starting five

G Steph Curry: 27.0 ppg, 46.8 fg%, 39.2 3pt%

G Brandin Podziemski: 13.7 ppg, 5.2 reb, 3.8 ast

C Kristaps Porzingis: 16.8 ppg, 5.0 reb, 1.2 blk

F Draymond Green: 8.4 ppg, 5.5 ast, 5.5 reb

F Gui Santos: 9.3 ppg, 3.9 reb, 50.5 fg%

Sixth man: F Al Horford: 8.3 ppg, 5.0 reb, 1.2 blk

Clippers projected starting five

G Kris Dunn: 7.3 ppg, 3.6 ast, 1.6 stl

G Darius Garland: 20.2 ppg, 6.2 ast, 44.6 3pt%

F Derrick Jones Jr.: 10.3 ppg, 3.4 reb, 50.1 fg% 

F Kawhi Leonard: 27.9 ppg, 50.5 fg%, 38.7 3pt%

C Brook Lopez: 8.5 ppg, 3.6 reb, 1.2 blk

Sixth man: F John Collins: 13.7 ppg, 5.3 reb, 41.2 3pt%

Who has the edge?

Last 10 games: Clippers 6-4, Warriors 3-7

Offensive rating: Clippers 117.2 (11th), Warriors 115.0 (19th)

Defensive rating: Clippers 116.1 (18th), Warriors 115.5 (15th)

Season series: Clippers, 3-1

Oct. 28: Warriors 98, Clippers 79

Jan. 5: Clippers 103, Warriors 102

March 2: Clippers 114, Warriors 101

April 12: Clippers 115, Warriors 110

Fast facts

• After Sunday’s season finale, the Clippers have now beaten the Warriors the past nine times the teams have met in Southern California, including all four inside the Intuit Dome.
• The streak is Golden State’s longest on the road against any opponent in Kerr’s 12 seasons.
• Overall, the Clippers have won 10 of the past 11 meetings between the teams in any setting.

Postseason history

The last time the Warriors and Clippers were on the same court in the postseason, Kevin Durant scored 50 points, Draymond Green had a triple-double and Golden State wrapped up the 2019 first-round series in six games on its way to a third championship in four years.

The Clippers prevailed in seven games in the teams’ only other postseason series, eliminating Curry, Kerr and Co. in the first round in 2014 — the last time the Warriors’ season would end before the NBA Finals for another six years.

The regular season is over. The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished with a 52-30, which is good enough for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They will take on the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs.

Final 2025-26 NBA Standings

Here are the final standings for each conference, with the Play-In Tournament set to decide who will face the top two seeds in each. The second seed in each conference will play the winner of the 7-8 game, while the one seed will play the winner of the next game, between the loser of the 7-8 game and the winner of the 9-10 game. Eliminated teams are noted in italics.

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Philadelphia 76ers (Play-In)
8. Orlando Magic (Play-In)
9. Charlotte Hornets (Play-In)
10. Miami Heat (Play-In)
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Brooklyn Nets
14. Indiana Pacers
15. Washington Wizards

East Playoff Matchups

• Pistons vs. Play-In team 2
• Celtics vs. Play-In team 1
• Knicks vs. Hawks
• Cavs vs. Raptors

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Houston Rockets
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Phoenix Suns (Play-In)
8. Portland Trail Blazers (Play-In)
9. Los Angeles Clippers (Play-In)
10. Golden State Warriors (Play-In)
11. New Orleans Pelicans
12. Dallas Mavericks
13. Memphis Grizzlies
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Utah Jazz

West Playoff Matchups

• Thunder vs. Play-In team 2
• Spurs vs. Play-In team 1
• Nuggets vs. Timberwolves
• Lakers vs. Rockets

Even though the Cavs have finished fourth in the standings, FanDuel Sportsbook currently gives them the fifth-best chance to win the NBA Finals (+1300) and the second-best odds to come out of the Eastern Conference (+290). The only team in their conference that they believe has a better chance of winning the title is the Boston Celtics (+550). The Cavs’ title odds are ahead of both the New York Knicks (+1900) and Detroit Pistons (+1900).

Official 2026 NBA Lottery Odds

And with the 2025-26 NBA season behind us, here is the final lottery order (with their odds to get the number 1 pick) for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 10.

*Teams in italics are placeholders as they and others will enter the Play-In Tournament to decide whether they are a playoff or lottery team.

1. Washington — top-8 protected (14%)
2. Indiana — pick goes to Clippers if it falls 5-9 (14%)
3. Brooklyn — (14%)
4. Sacramento — (11.5%)
5. Utah — top-8 protected (11.5)
6. Dallas — (8.3%)
7. Memphis — (8.3%)
8. Atlanta — via Pelicans (6%)
9. Chicago — (4.5%)
10. Milwaukee — (3%)
11. Golden State — (2%)
12. Oklahoma City — via Clippers (1.5%)
13. Miami — (1%)
14. Charlotte — (0.5%)

It’s always the Sixers that have got to make things weird.

Now that the 2025-26 regular season has concluded and the seeding is finalized, the league has announced dates, times and TV schedules for the Play-In tournament and the first weekend of the first round of the playoffs.

Normally, both 7-vs.-8 are the first games of the Play-In, taking place on the Tuesday the tournament starts. Since that’s the day of the Flyers’ final game of the regular season and the Sixers have snatched the seventh seed from the Magic, they’ll be hosting Orlando on Wednesday the 15th at 7:30 p.m. ET.

If they lose to the Magic, they’ll host the winner of Hornets/Magic on the 17th, also at 7:30. All Play-In games this year will be on Amazon Prime.

The @SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament is now set!

The action begins Tuesday, April 14 on @NBAonPrime.

Schedule ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/PxKEU7d6WN

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 13, 2026

If the Sixers get out of the Play-In, they’ll begin round one on Sunday the 19th. If they beat Orlando, they’ll secure the seventh seed and have the rest of the week off before taking on the Boston Celtics at 1 p.m. ET.

Should they fall back to the eight seed they’ll head to Detroit to play the Pistons at 6:30. If it’s Boston, that series will start on ABC as opposed to NBC and Peacock if they get matched up with Detroit.

It doesn’t seem like anyone is optimistic about the Sixers’ chances against either team with Joel Embiid on the shelf for most of if not the entirety of round one. The best possible advantage for this team might be four extra days of rest — and after seeing that Magic performance in Boston, it certainly is possible.

Every path to the NBA isn’t built the same. Some players lean on raw talent. Others have to grind for every opportunity.

Brooklyn Nets two-way forward Chaney Johnson fits firmly in the latter group. Call it grit if you must. It would be a good description.

Growing up in Alabaster, Alabama, a tough town south of Birmingham, nothing was handed to Johnson. After graduating from Thompson High School there in 2021, he had no offers from major programs. Instead, he committed to Division II Alabama/Huntsville.

For some players, missing out on the Division I level can be discouraging. For Johnson, it only provided more fuel for his fire. Despite not landing at one of the nation’s top programs, he remained locked in on the next opportunity.

“I was on to the next thing the whole time,” Johnson told NetsDaily in an exclusive conversation last week. “I need to try to get somewhere out of high school. Okay? Nah, I’m gonna go D2. Okay? I need to keep on working so I can get somewhere after D2. I’m at Auburn, I need to keep on working so I can get somewhere out of Auburn.”

Just a few years after receiving zero D1 offers out of high school, Johnson is in the NBA with the Nets on a two-way contract, tappi ng off his first season with a double double Sunday night: 16 points, 13 rebounds.

Looking back on his journey to the league, Johnson credits his “Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” above all else.

“One, all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and Jesus, without him, I would be nothing,” said Johnson. “I always fall back on him, just giving me the strength to continue to go.”

One of the biggest turning points in Johnson’s career came at Auburn. After earning Gulf South Player of the Year honors in 2023 and being named a two-time first-team All-Gulf South selection (2022, 2023) at UAH, Johnson transferred to Auburn.

While he remained focused on the next opportunity, he wasn’t particularly looking to leave UAH.

“He didn’t want to leave,” his longtime trainer, confidant, and primary representative, Kelley Hall, told ND. “I kind of felt like I was twisting his arm, like, ‘Yo man, I’ve got these schools reaching out—you need to go in the portal.’”

After visiting Auburn, though, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl didn’t let him leave the building, and the 23-year-old had decided that it was the place where he wanted to play the final years of his NCAA career.

He ultimately played an integral role in the Tigers’ Final Four run during the 2025 NCAA tournament, averaging 8.3 points and 6.5 rebounds across four tournament games while providing much-needed production off the bench.

From the moment he arrived, Johnson brought with him his most valuable asset: a relentless work ethic.

He was a guy who, as soon as he got to Auburn, was immediately our hardest worker, “Auburn basketball head coach Steve Pearl, who was an assistant on the staff during Johnson’s time with the program, told ND. ”He was immediately a guy that you just had to almost kick out of the gym and just worked his tail off nonstop.“

Although he went undrafted in last June’s NBA draft, Johnson remained determined to reach the league. Subsequently, he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Summer League. Though he didn’t make the team’s 15-man roster, Johnson began the season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge.

“He absolutely galvanized the locker room,” Charge head coach Eli Kell-Abrams told us. “He’s just on at all times, a joy to be around. He’ll run through a wall for you. Nobody played harder than Chaney. There was no better teammate.”

After 16 games with the Charge, including an impressive performance at the G League’s Winter Showcase in front of NBA executives, the Nets signed Johnson to their third two-way deal on Dec. 26.

At first, all of Johnson’s opportunities came in the G League with the Long Island Nets. Long Island has established itself as one of the league’s top development programs, with four players earning NBA call-ups this season, tied for the fourth-most in the G League. Johnson believes multiple aspects of his game grew under head coach Mfon Udofia and his staff on LI.

“I feel like all aspects of my game kind of grew,” he said. “I feel like Coach Mfon really let me play free… so I got to really get better at attacking more closeouts.”

Mfon Udofia, the development-oriented head coach of Long Island, said that he saw the biggest growth in Johson’s confidence.

“The biggest thing is building confidence in him,” said Udofia. “Sometimes players don’t know how good they are. So our job is to instill that confidence. He’s an extremely hard worker and does everything both our Long Island staff and Brooklyn staff ask of him.”

Fast forward to the present, and Johnson has appeared in 17 NBA games with the Brooklyn Nets, including one start. A potential 3-and-D player, he’s improved in a number of areas, his shooting and playmaking on offense and attacking closeouts on defense.

He finished his Brooklyn experience averaging 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 54.3% from the field in 17 games. Small sample for sure, but among the Nets eight rookies — the Flatbush 5, Malachi Smith, Grant Nelson and Johnson — his scoring numbers were higher than all of them except Egor Demin, Danny Wolf and Nolan Traore. The 23-year-old has also showcased his versatility, logging minutes across multiple positions, including at center, despite being undersized at 6’8”. (He does have a 6’11” wingspan.)

He takes pride in his ability to hold his own. Call it Brooklyn Grit or high character, what the Nets say they value.

“I take pride in that matchup,” said Johnson. “Even though I’m smaller, I don’t ever want to get punked by nobody. I don’t ever want to feel like I can’t hold my own against anybody. It’s testing my strength, my mentality… and showing me I can get stronger and really give those guys problems.”

He also credited Day’Ron Sharpe and Nic Claxton for helping him adjust to that role, “They help me all the time,” he said.

Johnson believes he has the tools to carve out a highly productive NBA career, and so remains determined to improve every aspect of his game.

“I feel like I’m a pretty solid defender, and my frame is pretty NBA-ready. I have the tools. But honestly, every aspect of my game needs to get better,” he said. “I need to be a better shooter, more confident with my ball handling, and smarter at reading sets. I feel like I could be good at a lot of things.”

Still, he aspires to be not just an NBA player, but a very good one. That confidence Udofia talked about seems to have taken root.

“I want to be one of the better players in the NBA,” Johnson said of his career aspirations. “All-Defensive First Team or Second Team and possibly have an NBA championship, I want to be one of the greatest players to ever touch the ball.”

His future remains uncertain. He will become a free agent in June. His two-way deal will be over. The Nets have a lot of young players, particularly wings plus three draft picks in June, one a high lottery pick. There’s been no indication whether the Nets will sign him to a new deal, invite him to Summer League or training camp, but that’s fine with Johnson. He’s accomplished a lot already.

Leading up to Sunday Night’s game between the Spurs and Nuggets, Wolves fans had reason to hope that San Antonio would take care of business against Denver’s C team. The Spurs rolled out the majority of their lineup minus Wemby. The Nuggets took the opposite approach of Nikola Jokic surrounded a bunch of dudes they found playing at the local YMCA. In the end, star power mattered, as Jokic’s 23 first-half points were enough to take down the Spurs. That outcome has set up a repeat of the 2024 Western Confernce Semi-Finals between the 3-seeded Nuggets and the 6-seeded Timberwolves.

But those weren’t the only seeds finalized tonight…

Final 2025-2026 NBA Standings

Here are the final standings for each conference, with the play-in ultimately set to decide who will face the top two seeds in each. The No. 2 seed in each conference will play the winner of the 7-8 game, while the No. 1 seed will play the winner of the next game, between the loser of the 7-8 game and winner of the 9-10 game. 

*Eliminated teams in italics.

As we head into the playoffs, you can rest assured that FanDuel Sportsbook has all your NBA betting needs covered, whether it’s Wolves/Nuggets or any of the other seven first-round series!

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Philadelphia 76ers (play-in)
8. Orlando Magic (play-in)
9. Charlotte Hornets (play-in)
10. Miami Heat (play-in)
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Brooklyn Nets
15. Washington Wizards

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Houston Rockets
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Phoenix Suns (play-in)
8. Portland Trail Blazers (play-in)
9. LA Clippers (play-in)
10. Golden State Warriors (play-in)
11. New Orleans Pelicans
12. Dallas Mavericks
13. Memphis Grizzlies
14. Utah Jazz
15. Sacramento Kings

Official 2026 NBA Lottery Odds

And with the 2025-26 NBA season behind us, here is the final lottery order (with their odds to get the No. 1 pick) for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 10.

[feel free to move this section to the top if your fanbase is more lottery-focused than playoffs]

1. Washington Wizards — top-8 protected (14%)
2. Indiana Pacers — pick goes to Clippers if it falls 5-9 (14%)
3. Brooklyn Nets (14%)
4. Utah — top-8 protected (12.5%)
5. Sacramento (10.5%)
6. Memphis (9%)
7. Dallas (7.5%)
8. Hawks — via Pelicans (6%)
9. Chicago (4.5%)
10. Milwaukee (3%)
11. Golden State (2%)
12. OKC — via Clippers (1.5%)
13. Portland (1%)
14. Miami (0.5%)

Despite the Nuggets’ best efforts over the weekend, the Lakers will remain the No. 4 seed and play the Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The opening game between the teams will be on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. PT on ABC.

Los Angeles (4) vs. Houston (5): Game 1 is on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on ABC.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 13, 2026

Game 1 between the Lakers and Rockets will be Saturday, April 18 with a 5:30 pm PT tip pic.twitter.com/cKA7r2CqmO

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 13, 2026

Entering the weekend, the Lakers sat one game behind the Nuggets. Denver then sat basically everyone of note in their final two games, opening the door for the Lakers to move up.

LA did it’s part by beating the Jazz on the final day. However, the Nuggets held serve in each of those contests, including beating the Spurs on Sunday.

As a result, the Lakers will face Houston in the postseason for the first time since the bubble when they beat the James Harden- and Russell Westbrook-led Rockets. The Lakers won the season series and did so with some exciting finishes.

The Lakers struggled with Houston in their first meeting on Christmas as they were run off the floor. However, in back-to-back games in Houston during March, the Lakers picked up two impressive wins to clinch the season series.

The first of those contests in Texas featured a collapse down the stretch from Houston as their offense went ice cold and the Lakers made just enough plays through Deandre Ayton to win. In the rubber match, Luka Dončić’s brilliance down the stretch gave LA the season series.

With Luka and Austin out, all of this will be new territory for the Lakers. This is one of the few teams that they had all three for each contest, though Reaves exited the Christmas game with a calf strain. Still, the fact remains that this is about to be a completely new dynamic for the Lakers in this series.

They’re going to be viewed as the underdogs of this contest and it’s certainly going to be an uphill battle. But the final week of the season proved the Lakers have some life left in them and won’t be going down without a fight.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Hawks completed their most successful regular season since 2020-21, entering the playoff bracket directly without going through the Play-In Tournament.

As a results of their loss to the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors win, and the Orlando Magic loss all today, the Hawks finished sixth in the Eastern Conference by virtue of losing the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Raptors. This means they will face the three-seeded New York Knicks in the NBA Playoffs that begin next weekend.

But they also have a super valuable lottery pick headed their way to show for it by way of a shrewd move during the last draft.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Hawks have the option to select the best pick between the Milwaukee Bucks and the New Orleans Pelicans, and both teams had already been eliminated entering Sunday. But after the results tonight, the final odds for that draft lottery have been set.

Final 2025-2026 NBA Standings

Here are the final standings for each conference, with the play-in ultimately set to decide who will face the top two seeds in each. The no. 2 seed in each conference will play the winner of the 7-8 game, while the no. 1 seed will play the winner of the next game, between the loser of the 7-8 game and winner of the 9-10 game. 

The Hawks will see the New York Knicks, and this path has major implications for their NBA finals odds, presented by Fanduel.

Similarly, you can see odds for the draft lottery that will be held next month.

Eastern Conference

*eliminated teams in italics.

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Philadelphia 76ers (play-in)
8. Orlando Magic (play-in)
9. Charlotte Hornets (play-in)
10. Miami Heat (play-in)
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Brooklyn Nets
14. Indiana Pacers
15. Washington Wizards

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Houston Rockets
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Phoenix Suns (play-in)
8. Portland Trail Blazers (play-in)
9. LA Clippers (play-in)
10. Golden State Warriors (play-in)
11. New Orleans Pelicans
12. Dallas Mavericks
13. Memphis Grizzlies
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Utah Jazz

Official 2026 NBA Lottery Odds

And with the 2025-26 NBA season behind us, here is the final lottery order (with their odds to get the no. 1 pick in parentheses) for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 10.

*The Hawks will have the option to select the more favorable result between the Pelicans and Bucks. The Bucks will receive the lesser favorable result

*teams in italics are placeholders as they and others will enter a Play-In Tournament to decide playoffs teams versus lottery teams

1. Washington Wizards (14%)
2. Indiana Pacers (14%) — pick goes to Los Angeles Clippers if it falls between 5th and 9th
3. Brooklyn Nets (14%)
4. Sacramento Kings (11.5%) — pending coin flip with Jazz
5. Utah Jazz (11.5%) — top-8 protected pending coin flip with Kings
6. Memphis Grizzlies (9.0%)
7. Dallas Mavericks (6.8%) — pending coin flip with Pelicans
8. Atlanta Hawks* (6.7%) — via Pelicans, pending coin flip with Mavericks
9. Chicago Bulls (4.5%)
10. Atlanta Hawks* (3.0%) — via Milwaukee if higher than Pelicans pick
11. Golden State Warriors (2.0%)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (1.5%) — via Clippers
13. Miami Heat (1.0%)
14. Charlotte Hornets (0.5%)

Atlanta Hawks superpick odds

With the dust settled, we can finally calculate the odds after the pick swap of where the Hawks’ lottery pick will land (no, it’s not as easy as adding the two picks’ odds together at each spot):

There will be a coin flip to determine which team between the Mavericks and the Pelicans get the extra lottery ball (the difference between a 6.8% and a 6.7% chance at no. 1 overall). And the ‘loser’ of that coin flip could also finish no higher than eighth instead of seventh in the scenarios without lottery luck.

1st: 9.75%

2nd: 9.92%

3rd: 10.10%

4th: 10.27%

1-4 total odds: 40.04%

They know the playoff opponent and how difficult that assignment will be for this group of Lakers when they open the postseason against the physical and rugged Houston Rockets.

They know they will be without two of their main cogs in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves when Game 1 kicks off Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena and they know this group of Lakers will have to dig deeper than any time this season in this best-of-seven series.

They finished the 82-game regular season on a three-game winning streak that gave the Lakers the fourth seed in the Western Conference after their 131-107 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday at home.

And it gave the Lakers a date with the fifth-seeded Rockets.

“Again, we have tried for the last six weeks to build towards the playoffs, both in our mentality, with our habits, all that stuff,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We knew the reality, whether we got 3, 4, 5, 6, whatever it was, there's no easy matchup. All those teams slotted there are tough teams, whether it was going to end up being Denver, Minnesota or Houston.

“Houston's obviously a really, really good basketball team, and we're going to prepare, and we're going to fight and we're going to go try to win a series….Going into today, we told the team, it's not about the opponent, it's about us, and now it is about the opponent. And we're going to do everything we can to get our guys in a great frame of mind, in a great physical shape over the next four or five days and be ready to play.”

The Lakers won the season series over the Rockets, 2-1, winning the last two games in a row in Houston last month. But that was when the Lakers were on a roll towards a 15-2 month of March and when Doncic and Reaves were playing.

But Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) were injured five games ago at Oklahoma, haven’t played since and aren’t expected to play in the first round of the playoffs.

Doncic leads the NBA in scoring (33.5 points per game) and is third in assists (8.3) and is second on the Lakers in rebounding (7.7). Reaves is second on the Lakers in scoring (23.3) and third in assists (5.5).

That’s what the Lakers will be missing in the postseason and that’s what they missed while going 3-2 with Doncic and Reaves out since the Thunder game.

“God, it's been a week. It feels like it's been two months. But the last week going into the Dallas game when we got the news about Luka and then the news about AR, I think the two words are spirit and health. Spirit and health,” Redick said. “This team needs great spirit and we need our remaining guys to be healthy. And that was our focus the last week.

“It's gonna be our focus this week. Building our capacity physically, making sure we don't do too much, making sure we don't do too little, making sure we get through the week healthy. And then the spirit, again, creating that belief. I think we've done that with this group over these last few games and we've gotta continue that going into Game 1. “

The Lakers will have their hands full with a Rockets team that grinds on defense and plays a physical brand of basketball.

The Rockets ended the season ranked fourth in points allowed (110.0), sixth in field-goal percentage defense (46.0) and sixth in three-point defense (35.1).

They are ranked first in rebounding, claiming 48.1 per game, and first in offensive rebounds, grabbing 15.0 per game.

They have two All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

After LeBron James (18 points), Deandre Ayton (22 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) and Rui Hachimura (22 points, 10 rebounds), helped demolish the Jazz, Marcus Smart, who had 10 assists, was asked what are the top things the Lakers will deal with when it comes to the Rockets.

Read more:'He does so many more things.' How Luke Kennard became the Lakers' emergency point guard

“KD and Sengun. We know that for sure,” Smart said. “Those are the two heads of the snake and then obviously making sure we keep those guys under control. Can’t let those other players get off as well. We got to be able to maintain them as well. But the focus is those two guys and just going out there and making it as tough as possible for them.”

The Lakers signed guard Nick Smith Jr. to a standard NBA contract, the team announced Sunday. Smith played in 29 games for the Lakers before Sunday, averaging 6.0 points and 1.0 assists in 12.3 minutes per game. Smith had 12 points against the Jazz.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers closed the regular season with a 131-107 blowout victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

The team played the first half at full strength, but sat LeBron James and Luke Kennard for the second half. It mattered little as the Jazz are one of the sorrier teams of the season and had no interest in winning.

LA scored 61 points off the bench, a whole host of those coming in garbage time in the fourth quarter but still a positive for the purple and gold.

Luke Kennard started things off with a midrange jumper for LA. Deandre Ayton dominated early with eight points and LeBron James had four. Oscar Tshiebwe and Ace Bailey combined for eight points for Utah. 

At the 6:36 mark, Los Angeles was up by nine. 

It was a balanced scoring affair for the Lakers as everyone in the starting lineup scored. Nobody from the bench had scored yet. LeBron was the first person from either team in double figures with 10 points. 

The purple and gold were up by 10 at the end of the first. 

The Lakers lead the Jazz 32-22 after one quarter of play. LeBron James has a game-high 10 points.

— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) April 13, 2026

Brice Sensabaugh started the second period with a triple for the Jazz. Marcus Smart responded on the other end with one of his own, his first in four attempts. LeBron poured on five more points, helping keep LA ahead. 

At the 6:48 mark, Los Angeles was up by 10. 

Ayton was now the second Laker in double figures with 10 points. Rui Hachimura started to light it up from behind the arc, knocking down three triples, which pushed his point total to 18. Fresh off his new contract, Nick Smith Jr. scored a quick six points off the bench. 

At halftime, LA was up by 17. 

18 a piece for LeBron and Rui in the first half 🪣 pic.twitter.com/4jS5qGgJpd

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 13, 2026

The Lakers started the second half with LeBron and Kennard rested for the night, so Bronny James and Jake LaRavia got the second-half start. Ayton was now up to 18 points after notching eight points in the quarter.

Bronny was a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc. Maxi Kleber was the only Laker who had yet to score. Bronny knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game, which put him in double figures with 11 points.

At the end of the third, Los Angeles was up by 21. 

The Lakers are up 95-74 over the Jazz entering the fourth quarter. As broadcaster Ryan Ruocco would say, "It's all cosmetic at this point.”

— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) April 13, 2026

The final frame saw Kleber, Adou Thiero, and Dalton Knecht all scoring early. The rest of the quarter was the youngins’ having a blast running up the score. Every single Laker scored on the night. 

Key Player Stats

LeBron finished with 18 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Hachimura ended with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Ayton notched 22 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks. 

Smart pitched in with five points and 10 assists. Smith Jr. logged 12 points on 5-11 shooting from the field. LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt combined for eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals. 

Bronny scored 11 points with four assists. Knecht put up 17 points with two rebounds and three assists. 

The Lakers will host the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, with Game One being Saturday at 5:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

There were three keys for the Lakers to have a successful Sunday night to close out the regular season.

The first: Leave their matchup against the Jazz healthy, which they did after limiting most of their main players to fewer than 30 minutes. 

The second: Beat the lowly Jazz, which they accomplished with a 131-107 victory at Crypto.com Arena.

The third was out of their control since it was happening over 1,300 miles away: Hope the Spurs beat the Nuggets to give the Lakers an opportunity to jump to third place in the Western Conference standings. 

Two of out of three will have to do, with the Nuggets securing the third seed in the West with their win over the Spurs, meaning the Lakers finished fourth in the standings. 

Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura both had 22 point-10 rebound double-doubles for the Lakers against the Jazz.

LeBron James finished with 18 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 17 minutes, with James and Luke Kennard not playing in the second half.

Bronny James had 11 points and 4 assists off of the bench against the Jazz for his third double-digit scoring performance in his last six games. 

Dalton Knecht, the Lakers 2024 first-round pick who’s mainly played garabe-time minutes this season, scored a season-high 17 points – all in the fourth.

What it means

The Lakers won their most number of games in an 82-game regular season since 2010-11, when they won 57 games after back-to-back title-winning seasons. 

It’s also their first time winning at least 50 games in back-to-back seasons in 15 years.

“The biggest thing for our players to see from, obviously myself, but our staff is just how relentless we are about trying to get these guys prepared, how relentless we are about trying to win,” coach JJ Redick said. “And our guys respond to that. The results have shown that they responded.”

Turning point

Feb. 9

That was when the Jazz beat the Heat in Miami, which was also the last time the Jazz won a game against a team that finished the season with a winning percentage of at least 50%. 

The last time they beat a West team with a winning percentage of at least 50%? 

Jan. 20 against the Timberwolves. 

And with an opportunity to ensure they finished with a bottom-four record in the league, and the best possible odds for the draft lottery, the chances of the Jazz leaving Southern California with a victory were slim-to-none.

MVP: Deandre Ayton

Ayton shot 10 of 14 from the field, the most number of field goal attempts he’s had in a game since Jan. 30.

Sunday was his first 20 point-10 rebound double-double since the March 12 home win over the Bulls. 

Stat of the game: 82

With his appearance in Sunday’s game, Jake LaRavia played in all 82 regular season games for the first time in his four-season NBA career.

He’s the 45th player in franchise history to play in all 82 regular season games. 

“It was probably my biggest goal at the beginning of the season, just kind of how the first three seasons went,” LaRavia said. “I just wanted to have a healthy, consistent, reliable year and I was able to make that happen. I’m very excited about that.”

The last Laker to play all 82 was Austin Reaves in 2023-24.

LaRavia was one of 18 players who entered Sunday with a chance to play 82 regular-season games.

Up next

The Lakers will play the Rockets in their first-round playoff series in the 4-5 seeds matchup.

Game 1 will be on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Even though the Spurs’ spot as the 2nd seed in the West was set in stone coming into the regular season finale, they still could have had a say in their second round match-up if they could have beaten the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, without their two centers, the Spurs were too small to deal with the Nuggets’ back court, and one big Nuggets run in the second quarter ended up putting them in too big of a hole to climb back out of on the way to a 118-128 loss. Still, they finish the season 62-20 for an impressive 36-game turnaround and are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

De’Aaron Fox led six Spurs in double figures with 24 points, while Julian Strawther led the Nuggets with 25 points, and Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 8 rebounds in one half of play.

Observations

• Both teams entered this game in control of something. The Nuggets needed a win or Lakers loss to remain in the third seed, and the Spurs controlled their second round destiny since beating the Nuggets and a Lakers win would push them down to the fourth seed and into the Thunder’s side of the bracket. That being said, neither team seemed to be too concerned about that, as the Spurs sat Victor Wembanyama (who admitted he would not have played in the Portland game had he not needed a 65th game) and Luke Kornet, while the Nuggets sat almost everyone of note except Jokic, who needed 15 more minutes to also be award eligible.
• No Wemby or Kornet meant Mason Plumlee got the start and Bismack Biyombo was his initial backup, but once again, Carter Bryant ended up being the answer at backup center. He had a great first quarter with 5 points and 3 blocks but, after hitting 8-9 threes over the last few games, hit just 1-7 in this game.
• That being said, the Spurs predictably struggled playing small ball against the likes of Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas, getting out-rebounded 33-18 in the first half. They also had a massive scoring drought for most of the second quarter, not scoring between a De’Aaron Fox three with 10:43 to go and a Vassell three with 2:44 left, during which time they were outscored 22-0 to get down by 23. Fortunately, that three sparked the Spurs to close the half on a 16-7 run, including a near half-court three from Fox at the buzzer to get back within 14, 56-70.
• Jokic got his 18 minutes in the first half and did not play in the second, and while the Spurs offense was better in the third quarter, they still couldn’t get enough stops against a team of “who he play for” Nuggets, nor could they keep them off the line. Four threes in the final two minutes (two from Castle, one from Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes) got them within 10 to start the fourth, but they could have been closer without some careless fouls.
• The fourth quarter was pretty much the same story: the center-less Spurs would have a few big plays to get within single digits but just didn’t have enough size to deal with Valanciunus, and they couldn’t get enough stops or hit enough consecutive shots to make an extended run. The result is Denver will be the third seed and potential second round match-up if they get by the Timberwolves in the first round. As for the Spurs, they will face the winner of the 7 vs. 8 play-in game between the Phoenix Sun and Portland Trail Blazers, who finished the season tied with the Clippers but own the tie-breaker.
• Barnes needed 17 points in this game to reach 10 ppg for the season and give the Spurs eight players averaging double figures (hat tip to Jacob Douglas). He came up short with 12 points on 5-11 shooting, 2-5 from three.

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Well, that wasn’t a fun regular season finale, but the Spurs are headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2019, and they should be perfectly healthy and ready to go by then. Get excited, Spurs fans!