Denver Nuggets roll into NBA play-offs, Toronto Raptors clinch berth

LOS ANGELES – The Denver Nuggets, fuelled by 23 first-half points from Nikola Jokic, beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118 on April 12, notching their 12th straight victory to clinch the Western Conference third seed on the last day of the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season.

On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparation for the looming play-offs, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jokic had to play at least 15 minutes to be eligible for the end-of-season awards, including MVP.

The Serbian big man played just over 18 minutes, propelling the visiting Nuggets to a 70-56 half-time lead that they would not relinquish against a Spurs team whose own MVP contender Victor Wembanyama sat out with a rib injury.

Denver clinched the third seed in the West, behind the leaders Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio in second, and will face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the play-offs.

The Los Angeles Lakers settled for fourth despite a 131-107 home victory over the Utah Jazz and will face the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets.

That series will pit Lakers star LeBron James against old rival Kevin Durant, but James could well be without the support of NBA leading scorer Luka Doncic, who is battling to recover from a hamstring strain.

“We’re going to prepare and we’re going to fight, and we’re going to go try and win the series,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

The Toronto Raptors rolled past the visiting Brooklyn Nets 136-101 and bagged the Eastern Conference fifth seed as the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks lost.

RJ Barrett scored 26 points, Brandon Ingram added 25 points and Scottie Barnes delivered a triple-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to help the 2019 NBA champions Raptors return to the play-offs for the first time since 2022.

“That was our aspiration for the year,” Barnes said. “It’s a big relief.”

Toronto will meet the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

The Miami Heat warmed up for the play-ins with a 143-117 home victory over the Hawks.

Jaime Jaquez Jr scored 26 points off the bench and Bam Adebayo scored 25 points with 10 rebounds for the Heat, who finished 10th in the East and will face the Charlotte Hornets.

Charlotte secured the ninth seed with a 110-96 road victory over the third-seeded New York Knicks.

The Hawks slipped from fifth to sixth, still avoiding the play-ins, which will see the seventh to 10th teams battle for the last two play-off berths in each conference.

East second seeds Boston held out several regulars, including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

But Baylor Scheierman scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Celtics to a 113-108 home victory over Orlando that saw the Magic finish as the eighth seeds in the East and book a play-in road game against the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-106.

Doc Rivers is departing as Bucks head coach after a lacklustre 32-50 regular season, US media reported.

The 2021 NBA champions missed the play-offs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Rivers has one year remaining on his US$40 million (S$51 million) contract and the Bucks will pay the remainder of that contract. The club and Rivers and discussing a possible move to the front office for 2026-27, according to sources.

The Portland Trail Blazers secured the eighth seed in the West with a 122-110 home victory over the Sacramento Kings and will face the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns in the play-in.

East top seeds the Detroit Pistons polished off the regular season with a 133-121 road victory over the Indiana Pacers. Detroit’s third straight win pushed their regular-season total to 60 for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.

Defending champions Oklahoma City, already assured of the West’s top seed and best record in the league, fell 135-103 to Phoenix in a season finale that saw both teams fielding their reserves. AFP, REUTERS