NBA Playoff Race

Eleven Games, Six Days Remain — Crunch Time is Here

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Charlotte Wins Again — Fourth Straight. LaMelo Ball dropped 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting with 7-of-14 from three, and Miles Bridges went 10-of-12 with a perfect 4-for-4 from deep for 25, and together they were simply too much for a Minnesota team that has now lost three straight and appear destined for a first round exit. Charlotte won 122–108 in Minneapolis to improve to 43-36, extending their winning streak to four and are now only 0.5 games out of the final playoff spot or securing home-court in the play-in tournament. For Minnesota, the third straight loss drops them to 46-32, stuck at the West's No. 6 seed and will likely face either Denver or Houston in the first round. Julius Randle had 26 points but committed 5 turnovers, and the Wolves shot just 21.4% from three in the second half when they needed stops and buckets the most.

The Clippers Move Back to the West's No. 8 Seed. The night's most consequential seeding result in the West came late, when the Clippers dominated Sacramento 138–109 behind 26 points from Kawhi Leonard, 25 from John Collins off the bench, and a bench unit that collectively outscored Sacramento's second unit by 39 points. Los Angeles shot 48.8% from three and forced 20 turnovers, converting them into 29 points. The win moves the Clippers to 40-38 and into a tie with Portland (also 40-38) for the West's No. 8 spot — but the Clippers hold the tiebreaker and are listed at No. 8, with Portland falling to ninth.

OKC On Brink of Securing the 1-Seed. The Thunder demolished Utah 146–111 to improve to 62-16, extending their winning streak to five and pushing their lead over San Antonio to three games with four games remaining. The Spurs would need to win out while OKC losing most for the Thunder to lose the top spot. The 1-seed is all but decided.

Boston Beats Toronto, Clinches the East's No. 2 Seed. The Celtics handled Toronto 115–101 to improve to 53-25, officially locking up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston is on a three-game win streak and playing their cleanest basketball of the second half. Toronto falls to 43-35 and slides to the No. 7 seed in the East, now tied in record with Philadelphia (43-35) but on the wrong side of the play-in line. The Raptors host Miami on Tuesday in a game that could directly determine whether they're a No. 6 seed or spending the first week of April in the play-in tournament.

The East's 6-10 Picture Is Still Unsettled. Five teams — Philadelphia (43-35), Toronto (43-35), Charlotte (43-36), Orlando (42-36), and Miami (41-37) are separated by two games with each having 3 or 4 games remaining. Philadelphia and Toronto are deadlocked at 43-35, with the Sixers at No. 6 and the Raptors at No. 7 on tiebreakers. But Charlotte is 0.5 games back whereas Orlando is 1.0 games behind. Miami has the largest hill to climb as they sit two games back with four games remaining on their schedule.

Cleveland and Houston Both Win. The Cavaliers beat Indiana 117–108 to move to 49-29 and are only one game behind New York for the 3-seed in the East. Houston barely beat Golden State in the late window to improve to 49-29 as well, maintaining their grip on the West's No. 5 seed, but are positioned well to claim either the 3 or 4-seed in the West.

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🏀 NBA Playoff Picture

After April 5, 2026  ·  Seeds 1–6 = direct berth  ·  Seeds 7–10 = play-in

LAL 128 · DAL 134

BOS 115 · TOR 101

CLE 117 · IND 108

CHA 122 · MIN 108

OKC 146 · UTA 111

ORL 112 · NOP 108

LAC 138 · SAC 109

PHX 120 · CHI 110

MIL 131 · MEM 115

HOU 117 · GSW 116

BKN 121 · WAS 115

Eastern Conference

Team		W–L	GB	L10	Strk
1	Detroit	57–21	—	8-2	W3	Direct
2	BostonW	53–25	4.0	8-2	W3	Direct
3	New York	50–28	7.0	7-3	W2	Direct
4	ClevelandW	49–29	8.0	8-2	W2	Direct
5	Atlanta	45–33	12.0	8-2	W4	Direct
6	Philadelphia	43–35	14.0	6-4	L1	Direct
7	TorontoL	43–35	14.0	4-6	L1	Play-in
8	CharlotteW	43–36	14.5	8-2	W4	Play-in
9	OrlandoW	43–36	14.5	5-5	W3	Play-in
10	Miami	41–37	16.0	3-7	W1	Play-in

BOS beats TOR — W3, 4 GB of DET. CLE on W2. PHI and TOR both 43–35 — tiebreaker holds PHI at 6. CHA (W4, 8-2 L10) and ORL (W3) both 43–36, pressing hard on TOR's 7-seed.

Western Conference

Team		W–L	GB	L10	Strk
1	Oklahoma CityW	62–16	—	9-1	W5	Direct
2	San Antonio	59–19	3.0	9-1	L1	Direct
3	LA LakersL	50–28	12.0	7-3	L2	Direct
4	Denver	50–28	12.0	9-1	W8	Direct
5	HoustonW	49–29	13.0	8-2	W7	Direct
6	MinnesotaL	46–32	16.0	5-5	L3	Direct
7	PhoenixW	43–35	19.0	4-6	W1	Play-in
8	LA ClippersW▲	40–38	22.0	6-4	W1	Play-in
9	Portland▼	40–38	22.0	8-2	W3	Play-in
10	Golden StateL	36–42	26.0	3-7	L4	Play-in

OKC cruises to W5 (62–16). LAL loses at DAL (128–134), drops to L2 — tied with DEN 50–28, LAL holds 3rd. HOU edges GSW 117–116 — W7. LAC ▲ to 8th on big SAC win, POR ▼ to 9th. MIN on L3.

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