The 2024 NBA playoff picture came further into focus during Thursday's five-game slate.
Look, there's still plenty to be decided over the final week-plus of the regular season, but a few teams can officially breathe a bit easier than they were able to 24 hours ago. With the Houston Rockets falling to the Golden State Warriors, the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns all clinched top-10 seeds in the Western Conference.
What does that mean? Not a ton, actually, but it does ensure these three clubs can do no worse than making the play-in tournament.
Of course, that trio is locked into a ferocious fight for a top-six seed—and the chance to bypass the play-in—so their work is far from finished. To dig deeper into the many remaining unknowns, let's update the standings and see which teams are on the move.
Eastern Conference
1. z-Boston Celtics: 60-16
2. Milwaukee Bucks: 47-29
3. Cleveland Cavaliers: 46-31
4. Orlando Magic: 45-31
5. New York Knicks: 45-31
6. Indiana Pacers: 43-34
-----Automatic Playoff Berth Cutoff-----
7. Miami Heat: 42-34
8. Philadelphia 76ers: 42-35
9. pb-Chicago Bulls: 36-40
10. pb-Atlanta Hawks: 36-41
-----Play-In Tournament Cutoff-----
11. e-Brooklyn Nets: 30-47
12. e-Toronto Raptors: 23-53
13. e-Charlotte Hornets: 18-58
14. e-Washington Wizards: 15-62
15. e-Detroit Pistons: 13-63
Western Conference
1. x-Minnesota Timberwolves: 53-23
2. x-Denver Nuggets: 53-24
3. x-Oklahoma City Thunder: 52-24
4. Los Angeles Clippers: 48-28
5. Dallas Mavericks: 46-30
6. Phoenix Suns: 45-31
-----Automatic Playoff Berth Cutoff-----
7. New Orleans Pelicans: 45-31
8. Sacramento Kings: 44-32
9. Los Angeles Lakers: 44-33
10. Golden State Warriors: 42-34
-----Play-In Tournament Cutoff-----
11. Houston Rockets: 38-38
12. e-Utah Jazz: 29-47
13. e-Memphis Grizzlies: 26-50
14. e-Portland Trail Blazers: 20-56
15. e-San Antonio Spurs: 18-58
*z-clinched best league record; x-clinched playoff berth; pb-clinched play-in berth; e-eliminated from playoff contention
Three of the Eastern Conference's top-eight seeds were in action Thursday night, and they all added to the congestion in the middle of the standings.
The previously sliding 76ers scored a critical win over the Heat in South Beach, giving them back-to-back victories—coincidentally, both by the same 109-105 count—since reigning MVP Joel Embiid returned after missing two months and change with a meniscus injury in his left knee.
Embiid has understandably looked a little rusty (by his gargantuan standards, of course), compiling his 53 points on just 43.6 percent shooting over the two contests. Still, his presence gives the opposition two massive headaches in trying to contain him and Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey, who missed Embiid's first game back with left hip tightness, looked essentially unstoppable alongside his co-star Thursday. He not only narrowly missed a monster triple-double (37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds), he did so while shooting a blistering 57.7 percent from the field, leading the contest in plus/minus (plus-26) and committing just a single turnover in his 41 minutes.
NBA @NBATyrese Maxey stuffed the stat sheet in the Sixers' thrilling win in Miami!<br><br>37 PTS | 11 AST | 9 REB | 5 3PM<br><br>PHI is .5 GB MIA for the 7th seed in the East 👀 <a href="">
The Sixers have won three straight, climbing within a half-game of the Heat. Miami, though, could get its own reinforcement with Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reporting there is "optimism" that the Heat could get scoring guard Tyler Herro (foot) back from a month-plus absence Friday night.
Shams Charania @ShamsCharaniaThere is optimism Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro – out since Feb. 23 with a foot injury – could return to the lineup on Friday vs. the Houston Rockets, sources tell <a href="">@TheAthletic</a> <a href="">@Stadium</a>. Herro traveled on team's three-game trip to Houston, Indiana and Atlanta.
Elsewhere in the East, the Knicks scored a double-digit win over the Kings, but the news wasn't all positive in New York. All-Star forward Julius Randle will be forced to undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a setback while trying to work his way back from a dislocated shoulder suffered in late January.
"Choosing to get surgery was my only option at this point," Randle told B/R's Chris Haynes. "It's frustrating, but I'm at peace knowing I tried everything."
The Knicks, who are also missing two-way swingman OG Anunoby, had dropped three in a row prior to Thursday's win. They are neck-and-neck with the Magic for the No. 4 seed and a half-game back of the Cavaliers for No. 3.
Out in the West, there wasn't much movement at the top, as the Nuggets and Clippers both held at Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, with L.A.'s two-point triumph over Denver.
There were some notable developments further down the standings, though.
The Mavericks, who rolled to a 109-95 win over the Hawks, stretched their lead over the No. 6 Suns to a full game. It wasn't the cleanest contest—the clubs combined to score just 30 points in the fourth quarter—but Kyrie Irving pumped in a game-high 26 points, while Luka Dončić stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, a block and yet another trick shot.
NBA @NBALuka off one foot from beyond the arc... IT'S GOOD 🎯<br><br>Hawks-Mavericks | Live on the NBA App<br>📲 <a href=""> <a href="">
"He's always able to make tough shots," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told reporters after Dončić's miracle make earlier this week. "He's Picasso. Give him the paintbrush, he's going to do something special."
Elsewhere, the Kings held at No. 8 during that loss to the Knicks but moved closer to the ninth-seeded Lakers (a half-game up) than they are to the sixth-seeded Suns and seventh-seeded Pelicans (one game back).
The conference contest with perhaps the most significance (given the aforementioned impact on the Mavs, Suns and Pelicans), though, was the bout between the 10th-seeded Warriors and 11th-seeded Rockets, which Golden State won comfortably (133-110) behind 29 points each from siblings-in-splash Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
With the victory, Golden State pushed its lead to a nearly insurmountable four games (functionally five games, since the Warriors own the tiebreaker) over Houston. The Rockets can probably start planning their summer vacations now.
