After endless possibilities over the past week in the Western Conference, its postseason picture finally became clear Sunday evening.
The Denver Nuggets nabbed the fourth seed by defeating the Houston Rockets. The Minnesota Timberwolves avoided the Play-In Tournament by defeating the Utah Jazz.
Then, the game with the most hype coming in delivered. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors in a thriller to clinch the fifth seed. There were plenty of lead changes and ties, but the Clippers ultimately got it done, 124-119, in overtime.
Golden State now gets bumped to the Play-In Tournament and will square off against the Memphis Grizzlies in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game. The winner of that advances to play the second-seeded Rockets in the first round.
The loser will play the winner of the game between the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings and 10th-seeded Dallas Mavericks. That will decide which team faces the league-best Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round,
Everything is set over in the Eastern Conference as well.
THE BRACKET IS SET 🍿 pic.twitter.com/xZBRkF7LT7
— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2025
Western Conference Playoff/Play-In Matchups
These are the matchups we know at the moment:
No. 3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
No. 4. Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5. Los Angeles Clippers
No. 7. Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8. Memphis Grizzlies (winner advances to face Houston Rockets)
No. 9. Sacramento Kings vs. No. 10 Dallas Mavericks (winner advances to play loser of 7 vs. 8)
Over the next week, the Thunder and Rockets get to sit back with popcorn and wait to learn their first-round opponent.
West First Round Set To Deliver
Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic will face off in the first round after seeing each other in the Western Conference Finals a year ago. Oh, and this time, LeBron James will be involved, too.
The Nuggets and Clippers are familiar foes dating back to the Bubble in 2019-20. There is certainly a different dynamic now, but headlining names like Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray remain involved.
Everyone knows what the Clippers can be with a healthy Leonard, we just haven’t seen it yet. Maybe, this is the year.
