By ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 140-109 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night, April 11.
Austin Reaves scored 23 points for the Lakers, who also clinched the Pacific Division title for only the second time in the last 13 seasons and won 50 games for just the second time in 14 years.
LeBron James scored 14 points before sitting out the final 19 minutes of Los Angeles’ sixth win in eight games. Doncic played only the first three quarters.
Taking care of business against Houston likely means James and Doncic will get at least a full week off between this game and the start of the playoffs.
Alperen Sengun, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Jae’Sean Tate all sat out for the Rockets, leaving Houston without six of its top seven scorers.
Cam Whitmore scored a career-high 34 points for Houston, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the West on Tuesday when the Lakers lost at Oklahoma City. Four starters then sat out Wednesday while the Rockets lost to the Clippers.
Bronny James played the final 4:23.
Meanwhile, James Harden had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and the Los Angeles Clippers held off a late flurry in the final two minutes and beat the Sacramento Kings, 101-100.
Ivica Zubic had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the Clippers win their seventh straight. Norman Powell added 16 points.
With one regular-season game remaining the Clippers are tied with the Denver Nuggets at 49-32 for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
The Clippers led comfortably most of the game until the Kings surged in the fourth quarter and got within 100-98 with 1:04 minutes remaining. After Sacramento’s Zach LaVine made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, the Kings stole the inbounds pass. But DeMar DeRozan’s contested 3-point try at the buzzer clanged off the backboard.
DeRozan scored 16 points and moved past Reggie Miller into 25th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
In Portland, Jimmy Butler III scored 24 points and the Golden State Warriors routed the Trail Blazers, 103-86, but did not clinch a playoff spot with one game remaining.
Because Minnesota beat Brooklyn 117-91, the Warriors will have to wait until Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Clippers to learn their postseason fate in the tight Western Conference.
In Salt Lake City, Aaron Wiggins scored 35 points and Isaiah Joe added 32 on a career-high 10 3-pointers to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 145-111 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Jaylin Williams added 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to help power the Thunder to their 31st road victory this season — second only to Boston.
