By Peter John
The Oklahoma City Thunder secured the Western Conference top seed and best record in the NBA with a 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Center Chet Holmgren poured in 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists for the reigning champion Thunder, who notched a seventh straight victory to improve to 64-16 with two games left in the regular season.
Oklahoma City snagged the West’s top seed for the third year running, and with the best overall record they’ll have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
“It’s extremely important,” said Holmgren, who added five assists, two steals and four blocked shots. “Just knowing that in the event of a game seven it’s always going to be at home. We saw that in the playoffs last year twice, so it’s extremely important.
“It’s great to see that the hard work has paid off in one way, and now we’ve got more to do,” Holmgren added.
OKC’s win means the surging San Antonio Spurs are locked into the second seed in the West.
San Antonio cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers 112-101 despite the absence of superstar Victor Wembanyama — who sat out with a bruised rib – and Stephon Castle.
De’Aaron Fox scored 25 points to lead a balanced Spurs attack. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points off the bench and rookie reserve Carter Bryant contributed 17.
The Denver Nuggets tightened their grip on third place in the West, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 136-119 behind a triple-double of 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists from Nikola Jokic.
Three-time MVP Jokic posted his 34th triple-double of the season, the 198th of his career, to help Denver win their 10th straight — their first double-digit win streak of his tenure.
Jamal Murray scored 26 points to lead eight Nuggets players to score in double figures as Denver edged further ahead of the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers for the third seed.
Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit welcomed star guard Cade Cunningham back to action with a 137-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Cunningham, who had missed 11 games with a collapsed lung, scored 13 points and handed out 10 assists in just under 26 minutes on court.
Jalen Duren scored 21 points to lead the Pistons, who had seven players score in double figures.
The Pistons have locked up the top seed and home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the return of Cunningham and teammate Isaiah Stewart, sidelined since March 13 with a calf strain, was a welcome opportunity to build their fitness before the playoffs start on April 18.
“There is no way to replicate NBA basketball,” Bickerstaff said.
