Oklahoma City Thunder has secured that they will have the best NBA record in the regular season, 64-16 with two games to be played, and clinched the top spot in the Western Conference for the third time in a row, giving them home court advantage through the playoffs that start next week.
Their 120-110 victory over Los Angeles Clippers, in which Chet Holmgren scored 30 points and 14 rebounds, was enough to take enough distance from the second best in the West, San Antonio Spurs (61-19). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points, enough to extend the record for most consecutive games scoring 20 points or more to 140, a big factor to make him favourite for the MVP this season.
The NBA regular season ends this Sunday, with teams ranked 1 to 6 go to play-offs, and teams ranked 7 to 10 go to play-in competition. Thunder will end the regular season first, Spurs second, and the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets competing for the third to fifth place.
Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Golden State Warriors have all clinched positions in the play-in tournament, with no chances to make it into the playoffs. In the East, the race for the play-offs is still open between Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Orlando Magic, ranked 5th to 7th.