The bottom spot in the Western Conference playoff race changed hands Tuesday when the New Orleans Pelicans charged past the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pelicans earned an impressive, 103-100 win over the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors, while the Thunder fell to the visiting San Antonio Spurs 113-88.
New Orleans slipped a half-game ahead Oklahoma City in the battle to determine the Warriors’ first-round playoff opponent.
“We look at ourselves as an elite team,” said Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who scored a game-high 29 points. “We feel like we can play with anybody and we can beat anybody on any given night, so we look at ourselves as an elite team. We just got to go out there and play that way.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said, “They brought it — we knew they were going to bring it. They’re fighting for the playoffs. I was really pleased with our competitiveness in the first half. I thought in the second half we weren’t ready for their desperation.”
The Thunder’s loss clinched a playoff spot for the Dallas Mavericks, who are locked into the seventh position.
The battle to make the West’s top four heated up when the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Los Angeles Lakers 105-100 Tuesday. The Clippers are now tied with Memphis in the standings, but the Grizzlies hold the No. 3 spot based on a 2-1 head-to-head record — though the teams play again Saturday in Staples Center. The Clippers would even the first tiebreaker with a win. The second tiebreaker is conference record, and that battle figures to go to the final game of the season.
The Grizzlies and Clippers are just one game behind the second-place Rockets and a half-game in front of the sixth-place Spurs. In between those teams in the playoff pecking order is the Portland Trail Blazers, who can fall no lower than the No. 4 seed as the Northwest Division champions.
The key showdowns on Wednesday’s schedule involve four teams from the Southwest Division. New Orleans plays at Memphis, while Houston plays at San Antonio. The Rockets (eight wins in the past 10 games) and Spurs (on a 9-1 roll) are two of the league’s hottest teams.
In the Eastern Conference, the first-place Atlanta Hawks play at the seventh-place Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. The Nets hold a one-game lead over the Boston Celtics, 1 1/2 games over the Miami Heat (a 105-100 winner over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday) and a two-game lead on the Indiana Pacers.
NBA PLAYOFF PICTURE THROUGH GAMES OF APRIL 7
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. *Atlanta Hawks (58-19), Southeast Division champions
2. *Cleveland Cavaliers (50-27), Central Division leaders
3. *Chicago Bulls (46-31)
4. *Toronto Raptors (45-32), Atlantic Division champions
5. *Washington Wizards (44-33)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (38-39)
7. Brooklyn Nets (36-41)
8. Boston Celtics (35-42)
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9. Miami Heat (35-43)
10. Indiana Pacers (34-43)
11. Charlotte Hornets (33-43)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. *Golden State Warriors (63-15), Pacific Division champions
2. *Houston Rockets (53-24), Southwest Division leaders
3. *Memphis Grizzlies (52-25)
4. *Portland Trail Blazers (50-27), Northwest Division champions
5. *Los Angeles Clippers (53-26)
6. *San Antonio Spurs (52-26)
7. *Dallas Mavericks (46-31)
8. New Orleans Pelicans (42-35)
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9. Oklahoma City Thunder (42-36)
* — clinched playoff berth