NBA’s West spots set: Warriors for play-in

LOS ANGELES (AP):

The Los Angeles Clippers worked overtime to clinch a playoff spot -- and sent the Golden State Warriors to the NBA's play-in tournament yesterday.

The final game to end the regular season was a big one for seeding in the Western Conference, with the Clippers beating the Warriors 124-119 in overtime to clinch the No. 5 seed.

The Warriors fell to No. 7 and will host No. 8 Memphis tomorrow with the winners earning the No. 7 seed.

Had Golden State won, the Clippers would have fallen to seventh. But James Harden prevented that with 39 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to cap an All-Star season for the former NBA MVP and give the Clippers an eighth straight win and a 50-32 record.

The West bracket wasn't set until a final day that had numerous teams in the running for numerous positions after the top three of Oklahoma City, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers was already determined.

The Denver Nuggets regrouped after their chaotic final week that included the firing of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth to secure the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round against the Clippers by beating the Rockets 126-111.

The Lakers, Nuggets and Clippers all finished 50-32, with Los Angeles having the tiebreaker to finish No. 3 and start a series in Los Angeles for the first time since 2012.

The Timberwolves -- who could have slipped all the way to eighth in some scenarios -- instead landed in the No. 6 spot at 49-33 following their 116-105 victory over Utah. Anthony Edwards scored 43 points after stressing to his teammates the urgency to avoid having to play at least one more game.

So did the Warriors, who have never won a game in the play-in tournament. They would have finished sixth to set up another marquee matchup between Stephen Curry and LeBron James in the postseason and have just two days to shake off the disappointment.

Sacramento are No. 9 and Dallas No. 10 in the West. They will play Wednesday in Sacramento, with the winners having to beat the losers of the Golden State-Memphis game to face the top-seeded Thunder in the first round.

There was no final-day drama in the East, where everything had already been decided.

Cleveland are No. 1 and Boston are No. 2, and they will await the two teams to advance from the play-in. The No. 3 New York Knicks will face the No. 6 Detroit Pistons, and No. 4 Indiana will meet No. 5 Milwaukee.