On April 10, Beijing time, the NBA played a total of 14 games, of which the important results are as follows: Mavericks defeated the Hornets, Timberwolves defeated the Wizards, Thunder reversed the Kings, Nuggets beat the Jazz, Warriors defeated the Lakers, the Suns lost to the Clippers, and the Pelicans beat the Trail Blazers.
The top three in the West all played today, and they all won, so there is no change in each other's rankings. The order of the Nuggets and the Thunder, the Timberwolves and the Nuggets have the same record, both leading the Thunder by 1.0 wins, the most surprising thing here is the Thunder, they have suffered 3 consecutive defeats before, there is a view that the Thunder do not want to fight for the 1st or 2nd, deliberately fell to the 3rd, the reason is to pick the right opponent, just imagine, if the Lakers can enter the playoffs, then the probability will be the 8th in the West, if the Thunder are ranked first in the West, they are obviously not the Lakers' opponents in the playoffs, and the regular season is proved by three kills.
The Clippers defeated the Suns 105-92, there was no suspense in this battle, the Clippers once led by 30+ in the first quarter, and continued to press the Suns in the second quarter, the Suns narrowed the gap in the third quarter, and the Suns chased to single digits in the final quarter, but the Clippers immediately responded to a wave to lock up the win. In terms of statistics, George had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 turnovers, and Wei Shao had 16 points, 15 rebounds, 15 assists, 2 steals and 5 turnovers, scoring the first triple-double of his Clippers career. After this game, the Clippers officially locked up the 4th place in the West, while the Suns were overtaken by the Pelicans and fell to 7th in the West, which is equivalent to falling into the play-in area. In addition, the Clippers have also created an NBA miracle this season, with 26 wins on the road this season, with a record of 26 wins and 15 losses, tying the team's all-time record for more away games in a single season.
The Mavericks defeated the Hornets 130-104, and there was no suspense at all, the Mavericks led by 18 points in the first quarter, and the difference in the second quarter came to 20+, and the Hornets had the upper hand in the third quarter, and the Mavericks did not give another chance in the final quarter. In terms of statistics, Doncic had 39 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 turnovers, which was the 77th triple-double of his career, tying Harden for 8th all-time. Gafford had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Irving had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. With this victory, the Mavericks continue to rank 5th in the West, and are 2.0 wins ahead of the Pelicans behind them, and it is difficult to catch up, so it is already certain that the Clippers will play the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.
The Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers 110-100, the suspense of this battle was not big, the Pelicans only led by 1 point in the first quarter, the Trail Blazers overtook in the second quarter, and the situation changed abruptly in the third quarter, the Pelicans won 12 points in a single quarter, and the Trail Blazers were unable to fight back in the final quarter. In terms of statistics, Zion had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, Murphy had 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and McCollum had 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. With this victory, the Pelicans rose from 7th to 6th in the West, because the Suns lost today, the current gap between the two sides is 1.0 games, and the competition for 6th place in the West has entered the final stage, don't look at the difference of only 1 place, 6th can directly get the playoff spot, and 7th has to play the play-offs.
The Kings lost to the Thunder 105-112, the process of the battle was full of ups and downs, the first quarter of the Kings led by 3 points, the second quarter of the difference came to double digits, I thought the winner had been decided, but I didn't expect the third quarter of the King's offensive power outage, the Thunder won 16 points in a single quarter, the final quarter of the King's offense still did not improve, at the critical moment Alexander cut 6 points in a row to end the suspense. In terms of statistics, Fox had 33 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers, and Sabonis Jr. had 8 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 turnovers. It should be noted that although the Kings lost the game, they are still 8th in the West, because the Lakers also lost, even if the two sides have the same final record, it will be the Kings who are at the top of the rankings, for the simple reason that the Kings swept the Lakers in the regular season.
The Lakers lost to the Warriors 120-134, the process of the battle was full of ups and downs, the Lakers fell behind by 9 points in the first quarter, the difference in the second quarter came to double digits, and the Lakers once chased to single digits in the third quarter, but then they were pulled away by the Warriors. In terms of statistics, James scored 33 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers, and the number of assists in his NBA career (regular season + playoffs) exceeded 13,000, the fourth person in NBA history, the previous three were Stockton, Kidd and Paul, Reaves 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and Hachimura 20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. On the Warriors' side, Klay had 27 points and 3 assists, Curry had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks, and Wiggins had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks.
After this battle, the gap between the Warriors and the Lakers narrowed to only 0.5 games, not only that, but the Warriors' remaining three opponents are the Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Jazz, and it is obvious that the Warriors have a good opportunity to overtake the Lakers. On the whole, the gap between the 6th and 10th in the West has widened a little, and there is basically no hope for the Lakers and Warriors to hit the top 6 in the West, and it is even difficult to chase the 8th. Finally, predict where the West will stand after the play-offs: Timberwolves, Nuggets, Thunder, Clippers, Mavericks, Suns, Pelicans, and Lakers.