The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers earned wins on Saturday, putting them in good position to take advantage of the swing game in Sunday's play-in race between the Eastern and Western Conferences.
The Sixers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies and are now one game behind the Indiana Pacers and 0.5 games behind the Miami Heat. Indiana and Miami will play on Sunday.
Los Angeles defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and moved up to within a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans in the West Division standings.
Regardless of which team wins, the Lakers will benefit from the outcome of Sunday's game between New Orleans and the Phoenix Suns.
Updated NBA standings
eastern conference
1. Boston (61-16)
2. Milwaukee (47-30)
3. Cleveland (46-32)
4. Orlando (45-32)
5. New York (45-32)
6. Indiana (44-34)
play-in race
7. Miami (43-34)
8. Philadelphia (43-35)
9. Chicago (37-40)
10. Atlanta (36-42)
The Sixers got the job done in Memphis behind Joel Embiid's 30 points and 12 rebounds.
Embiid only played 23 minutes on Saturday, but that should help him recover for Sunday's visit to the San Antonio Spurs.
To get the most out of Indiana vs. Miami, Philadelphia needs to beat San Antonio.
The Pacers only have four games left, so they have more urgency to win on Sunday than Miami, which has an extra game.
Since Sunday, the Sixers have already played three home games against eliminated teams, so they could be poised to move into sixth place ahead of the Pacers and Heat.
On Saturday, the Atlanta Hawks lost to the Denver Nuggets. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 9 seed and seem destined to visit Chicago for the season at the start of the play-in round.
Play-in predictions: 7. Indiana, 8. Miami, 9. Chicago, 10. Atlanta
western conference
1. Minnesota (53-24)
2. Denver (53-24)
3. Oklahoma City (52-25)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (49-28)
5. Dallas (47-30)
6. Phoenix (46-31)
play-in race
7. New Orleans (45-32)
8. Los Angeles Lakers (45-33)
9. Sacramento (44-33)
10. Golden State (42-35)
11. Houston (38-39)
The Lakers defeated the Pistons and inched closer to the Suns and Pelicans.
On Sunday, the Lakers will face a tougher task at home against the top-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
Minnesota is competing with Denver and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for most road wins in the West.
If the Lakers win, they will be in the race for the No. 6 seed next week.
Phoenix will likely defeat a struggling New Orleans team on Sunday, meaning the Lakers can at least try to secure the No. 7 seed and home court through the play-ins.
The Lakers host Golden State on Tuesday and close out the regular season in New Orleans, which will depend on how the play-in standings change.
The Pelicans may be in free fall mode as they visit Phoenix, Sacramento and Golden State as part of a road four-game series that begins Sunday.
Play-in predictions: 7. Los Angeles Lakers, 8. Sacramento, 9. New Orleans, 10. Golden State
