The Los Angeles Lakers did what they needed to do to get out of the play-in tournament. However, it was not enough after both the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers got surprising results in their final games of the NBA regular season.
Dallas was expected to win their final game of the campaign against the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves, but in a rather shocking twist, it was the Wolves who came out dominating the showdown. Meanwhile, the Blazers–who were expected to lose to the Denver Nuggets–came out swinging right from the start and showed their hunger as they want away with the 132-116 victory to secure their NBA playoffs spot.
LeBron James and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans as expected, but the crazy end to the season meant they are staying at seventh and going to the play-in tournament to face the Golden State Warriors in the opening round.
After Sunday's games, the Mavs, Blazers and Lakers finish with an identical 42-30 record. However, Dallas ends up claiming the fifth seed by virtue of winning the Southwest Division–which takes effect when three teams are tied. On the other hand, the Blazers claim sixth since they have the head-to-head advantage against the Lakers after winning their NBA season series, 3-1.
The Lakers play the Warriors on Wednesday. The winner of the play-in game gets the seventh seed, while the loser will have to face the winner of the Memphis Grizzlies-San Antonio Spurs game for the eighth seed.
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