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Where will the Los Angeles Lakers end up in the Western Conference standings? While the Lakers could have inched closer to clinching a playoff spot on Tuesday night, they fell 136-120 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that never seemed to be on their side.
After handing the Thunder their worst loss of the season the game before, Oklahoma City held extra motivation on Tuesday. Not to mention, this was their final home game of the year in what has been a historic season for the Thunder faithful. Not only were the Lakers playing against Oklahoma City, but it also seemed as they were in a constant battle with the officials.
Luka Doncic was handed two technical fouls in this game. The first technical came in the third quarter after the Lakers star was arguing with official J.T. Orr that he missed a foul call when Jarred Vanderbilt was hit by Oklahoma City. His second technical foul and eventual ejection came in the fourth quarter with 7:40 left in the game and the Lakers leading 108-107.
Luka Doncic has been ejected from Lakers-Thunder after picking up his 2nd technical foul 👀
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 9, 2025
The main problem with this technical foul that Orr assessed is that Doncic wasn't talking to any of the officials or Thunder players. Instead, he was yelling at a fan in the standings who had been taunting him the entire game. Whether Orr didn't like Doncic's comment or felt it was directed at him, the official took the game into his own hands and threw Luka out of the game.
This led to the Thunder ending the game on a 29-12 run and claiming a 16-point victory. Many have pointed out that there is a history between Orr and Doncic, which could have led to the quick whistle against the Lakers star.
Whatever the case, Doncic's ejection directly impacted the result of this game, which has a domino effect on the Lakers and the rest of the Western Conference standings and tiebreakers.
Where Lakers are in West standings
As a result of their loss on Tuesday, the Lakers will head into the second night of a back-to-back against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday needing a win to clinch their playoff berth. Los Angeles is currently 48-31 and leads four teams that are 47-32 by one game in the standings. Those four teams are the LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies.
In addition to clinching a top-six spot in the West standings with a win, the Lakers can also win the Pacific Division by defeating Dallas, plus losses by the Clippers and Warriors on Wednesday night.
The Lakers are currently the 3-seed in the West and will likely host a first-round playoff series.
Lakers' scenarios and tiebreakers
A loss to the Mavericks in Doncic's return game to Dallas could possibly lead to Los Angeles being tied in the standings with a few other teams. However, the Lakers own multiple tiebreakers. That is why they won't fall from third place with a loss on Wednesday.
If the Lakers were to lose to the Mavericks and then lose again to the Houston Rockets on Friday, they would be in danger of falling out of the top four in the West and on the verge of being in the play-in region of the standings.
The Lakers own several tiebreaker scenarios over their Western Conference foes.
Los Angeles owns head-to-head tiebreakers over the Clippers, Warriors, and Grizzlies. They also temporarily own the tiebreaker over Denver and Minnesota since LeBron James and Co. are in line to win the Pacific Division.
The only scenario in which the Lakers can fall out of the top four in the West standings is if they lose two of their final three games and see two of the four teams tied right behind them win out. Overall, the Lakers are on track to claim either the 3-seed or 4-seed in the Western Conference playoff picture.
This matchup with the Mavs on Wednesday will paint a clearer picture entering the final two games of the season.
