Luka Doncic finished with a triple-double to lead the Mavericks to victory on Friday night, and Dallas clinched an NBA Western Conference playoff berth along the way.
Dallas’ 114-110 home win against Toronto means the Mavericks will finish among the top six teams in the West and avoid next week’s play-in tournament. Dallas now sits in fifth place, one game ahead of the sixth-place Portland Trail Blazers and 1 1/2 games up on the seventh-place Los Angeles Lakers. The Blazers and Lakers each were idle on Friday.
While the top six teams in each conference earn playoff berths, the seventh- through 10th-place teams will head to a play-in tournament to determine the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds. The regular season ends Sunday.
Portland can clinch a playoff berth with a win Sunday against Denver, or with a Lakers loss either Saturday at Indiana or Sunday at New Orleans.
Elsewhere in the West on Friday, the fourth-place L.A. Clippers lost 122-115 to the Houston Rockets, which gave the Pacific Division title to the second-place Phoenix Suns. Denver beat Detroit 104-91, moving the Nuggets into third place with one game left to play. The Nuggets and Clippers are tied in the standings, but Denver holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Golden State and Memphis each notched narrow wins to remain in eighth and ninth place, respectively. The Warriors and Grizzlies play in the season finale Sunday, with the winner taking the No. 8 seed for the play-in tournament and the loser getting the No. 9 seed.
The NBA announced that the West play-in games would be played Wednesday and Friday next week (TV on ESPN), while the East play-in games will be Tuesday and Thursday (TV on TNT).
Here’s a look at the Western Conference playoff race through Friday’s games:
FRIDAY’S SCORES
• Denver 104, Detroit 91
• Utah 109, Oklahoma City 93
• Dallas 114, Toronto 110
• Houston 122, L.A. Clippers 115
• Memphis 107, Sacramento 106
• Golden State 125, New Orleans 122
WEST STANDINGS
| Western Conference | W-L | GB |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Utah Jazz | 51-20 | — |
| 2. Phoenix Suns | 49-21 | 1.5 |
| 3. Denver Nuggets | 47-24 | 4 |
| 4. Los Angeles Clippers | 47-24 | 4 |
| 5. Dallas Mavericks | 42-29 | 9 |
| 6. Portland Trail Blazers | 41-30 | 10 |
| ————————- | ||
| 7. Los Angeles Lakers | 40-30 | 10.5 |
| 8. Golden State Warriors | 38-33 | 13 |
| 9. Memphis Grizzlies | 38-33 | 13 |
| 10. San Antonio Spurs | 33-37 | 17.5 |
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY …
West matchups
(1) Utah vs. No. 8 seed
(2) Phoenix vs. No. 7 seed
(3) Denver vs. (6) Portland
(4) L.A. Clippers vs. (5) Dallas
IF THE PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY …
Game 1 (Wednesday, May 19): (10) San Antonio at (9) Memphis. Winner advances to play loser of 7-8 matchup; loser eliminated
Game 2 (Wednesday, May 19): (8) Golden State at (7) L.A. Lakers. Winner earns No. 7 seed for playoffs; loser plays winner of 9-10 matchup
Game 3 (Friday, May 21): L.A. Lakers-Golden State loser vs. Memphis-San Antonio winner. Winner earns No. 8 seed for playoffs; loser eliminated
SATURDAY’S GAMES
(all times Pacific)
• L.A. Lakers at Indiana, 10 a.m.
• Phoenix at San Antonio, 11 a.m.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
(all times Pacific)
• Phoenix at San Antonio, 11 a.m.
• Memphis at Golden State, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)
• Dallas at Minnesota, 6 p.m.
• L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 6 p.m.
• L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.
• Utah at Sacramento, 6 p.m.
• Denver at Portland, 6 p.m. (NBCSNW)
