The Warriors had a chance to secure a top-six Western Conference seed Friday night, and though that didn’t happen, they took another big step towards making that a reality by beating the short-handed Kings 119-97 at Golden 1 Center.
With the win, the Warriors now are 43-38 with one regular-season game remaining against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on Sunday.
For the moment, the win pushes the Warriors a half-game ahead of the idle Los Angeles Clippers (42-38) for the No. 5 seed. Golden State remains a full game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers (42-39) and the New Orleans Pelicans (42-39).
Heading into the final weekend of the season, the equation is simple for the Warriors: Beat the Trail Blazers on Sunday and they clinch a top-six seed in the West.
If the Warriors lose to the depleted Blazers, they would finish the regular season with a 43-39 record and would need a whole lot of help if they want to avoid the play-in tournament because they don’t hold the tiebreakers over the Clippers, Lakers or Pelicans.
The Clippers host the Blazers on Saturday, and if LA wins, they move back ahead of the Warriors in the standings with each having one game remaining. Though they would have the same record, the Clippers hold the tiebreak due to a better division record.
In the event that the Warriors fall in Portland on Sunday, they would need the Pelicans to lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Lakers to lose to the Jazz, who have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Not much was settled Friday night, with the Warriors, Pelicans and Lakers all winning, meaning the seeding will come down to the wire.
Sunday is setting up to be a chaotic scramble and it should be highly entertaining.
Here’s how the Western Conference standings look heading into the final weekend of the season:
1. Denver Nuggets (52-28) — Clinched playoff spot and No. 1 seed
2. Memphis Grizzlies (51-30) — Clinched playoff spot and No. 2 seed
3. Sacramento Kings (48-33) — Clinched playoff spot and No. 3 seed
4. Phoenix Suns (45-36) — Clinched playoff spot and No. 4 seed
5. Golden State Warriors (43-38)
6. Los Angeles Clippers (42-38)
7. Los Angeles Lakers (42-39)
8. New Orleans Pelicans (42-39)
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-40)
10. Oklahoma City Thunder (39-42) — Clinched a play-in spot
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Eliminated from playoff contention: Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
