The race to the NBA Playoffs continues for the Warriors and Kings, with both looking to climb up the Western Conference standings with big wins in a series of games on Sunday.
Golden State, which had already secured at least a top-10 seed in the West after the Houston Rockets' loss to the Dallas Mavericks earlier in the day, lost to Utah at Chase Center with Stephen Curry on the bench. – Defeated the Jazz 118-110. .
Klay Thompson scored 32 points, including six 3-pointers, in the win, and Jonathan Kuminga returned from missing six games due to tendonitis in his right knee and recorded a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. did. Thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves later in the evening, Golden State advanced in the West Division after defeating Utah.
The Warriors (43-35) remain the No. 10 seed in the West, but are just 1.5 games behind the Lakers (45-34) for the No. 9 spot. If the play-in tournament started immediately after Sunday's game, Golden State and Los Angeles would face each other in the first game.
Mathematically, the Warriors still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson combined for 60 points, which would have been eliminated had the No. 6 seed Phoenix Suns defeated the No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. and defeated Kevin Durant and others at Footprint Center.
The Kings, who secured at least a top-10 spot on Friday, remain in the No. 8 seed after a blowout 107-77 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at Barclays Center. Five Sacramento players scored in double figures against Brooklyn, including Davion Mitchell (12 points) and Trey Lyles (14 points) who played key roles off the bench.
The Kings are also gunning for the No. 6 seed, just one game behind the Pelicans and Suns, who are tied at 46-32 on the season. But for now, if the play-in tournament begins Sunday, Sacramento will face New Orleans.
Here are the latest Western Conference standings after Sunday's games:
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 54-24
- Denver Nuggets: 54-24
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 53-25
- Los Angeles Clippers: 50-28
- Dallas Mavericks: 48-30
- Phoenix Suns: 46-32
Play-in tournament spot
- New Orleans Pelicans: 46-32
- Sacramento Kings: 45-33
- Los Angeles Lakers: 45 wins, 34 losses
- Golden State Warriors: 43 wins, 35 losses
eliminated
- Houston Rockets: 38-40
- Utah Jazz: 29-49
- Memphis Grizzlies: 27-51
- Portland Trail Blazers: 21-57
- San Antonio Spurs: 19-59
Both the Warriors and Kings have Monday off, but will resume play on Tuesday. Sacramento will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center at 5 p.m. PT, while Golden State will also return to Crypto.com Arena for a key game against Los Angeles at 7 p.m. PT.
