With the final days of the 2013-14 NBA regular season upon us, only one spot remains in the postseason. On Saturday, April 12, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference was locked up and a seventh team in the Western Conference clinched a berth in the playoffs.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul stuffed the stat sheet and led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Griffin tallied 27 points and nine assists, Jordan had 21 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, and CP3 put up 17 points, 10 dimes and seven boards.
The Clippers have tied a franchise record with 56 wins.
2. Monta Ellis erupted for a season-high 37 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their biggest win of the season: 101-98 over the Phoenix Suns. Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki combined for 44 of the Mavericks’ 55 second-half points.
With the win, the Mavericks become the seventh Western Conference team to clinch a berth in the postseason.
3. Al Jefferson continued his All-NBA campaign with 29 points and 16 rebounds on 13-of-19 shooting to guide the Charlotte Bobcats past the Philadelphia 76ers 111-105. With Kemba Walker absent due to injury, seven separate Bobcats players scored in double-figures.
The Bobcats secure a record of .500 or better for just the second time in franchise history.
4. Bradley Beal put up 26 points as the Washington Wizards pulled out an impressive 104-91 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. It was a display of two-way efficiency for Washington, which forced the Bucks into committing 20 turnovers.
The Wizards will finish a season with a record above .500 for the first time since 2007-08.
5. Dwyane Wade returned with a stellar performance, but the Miami Heat fell 98-85 to the Atlanta Hawks. Wade scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting in just 23 minutes of action, but Jeff Teague scored 25 points and Louis Williams had 23 on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, 4-of-4 from distance and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
With its win, the Hawks clinched a berth in the 2014 NBA playoffs.
6. The Hawks have made the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons. Only the San Antonio Spurs have a longer active streak at 17 straight appearances.
7. Avery Bradley scored 25 points and Phil Pressey dished out 13 assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 111-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seven separate players scored in double-figures for the Cavaliers, but Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters combined to shoot just 9-of-30 from the floor.
Rookie big man Kelly Olynyk finished with career-high marks of 25 points and 12 rebounds.
8. Olynyk is the first Celtics rookie with at least 25 points and 12 rebounds since Paul Pierce in 1998-99. Let’s just say that ended up working out well.
9. James Harden continued to pour in double-doubles with 33 points and 13 rebounds as the Houston Rockets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 111-104. Harden has four double-doubles in his past five games and nine since March 1.
Prior to March 1, Harden had five.
10. Randy Foye and Kenneth Faried took over to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Utah Jazz 101-94. Foye finished with 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, while Kenneth Faried went off for 24 points, 21 rebounds and five assists down low.
It’s the Manimal’s first career 20-20 game.
Bonus Fact: The New York Knicks have been eliminated from the playoffs. It’s the first time Carmelo Anthony has missed the playoffs in his 11-year career.