The Miami Heat capped off a perfect 4-0 week in Toronto on Sunday to take a two-game lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.
We have reached the final week of the 2021-22 regular season with much to still be decided. At the close of Week 24, four teams in each conference have clinched a playoff berth, a total of three teams have clinched a spot in the Play-In Tournament, and nine teams have been eliminated from postseason contention. With only 53 games to be played across the league before the regular season closes on Sunday, every game has major implications from here on out.
The NBA Standings after Sunday!
The 76ers have clinched a spot in the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel.https://t.co/xhCSbzNSi7 pic.twitter.com/78Xy2FOlVB
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2022
Here are a few key races to watch over the final week of action:
Seeding at the top of the East: Miami holds a two-game lead, then the next three teams (Boston, Milwaukee and Philly) are within a half-game of each other and all tied in the loss column (30).
Matchups and home court in the East Play-In: The Hornets (40-38) and Nets (40-38) are already guaranteed to be in the Play-In and while Cleveland (43-36) and Atlanta (41-37) have a slim chance of catching Chicago or Toronto (both 45-33) for a top-six seed, their most likely outcome is also the Play-In. So how will these teams match up? Who hosts the 7/8 game with the winner locking up the No. 7 seed in the playoffs? Who hosts the 9/10 game with the loser eliminated and the winner getting one more shot at the No. 8 seed?
Playoffs or Play-In: Can Minnesota catch Utah or Denver and get out of the Play-In and guarantee a playoff berth? The Wolves finished Week 24 two games back of both the Jazz and Nuggets in the loss column; they hold the tiebreaker over the Nuggets (3-1), but not the Jazz (1-3), so they will definitely need some help if they hope to clinch their first playoff berth since 2017-18 (and second since 2003-04) without having to survive the Play-In.
The Play-In is just 8 days away!
Teams ranked 7-10 will compete to secure the final two spots for each conference in the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel.
➡ https://t.co/vw3Vl8tkrl pic.twitter.com/bzbnbx5NAh
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2022
Play-In or go home: Can the Lakers sneak into the West Play-In? Los Angeles has lost six games in a row and now sits two games back of San Antonio for the 10th and final spot in the West Play-In Tournament. Both teams have four games to play and the Lakers must finish with a superior record to earn the spot. The Lakers and Spurs split their season series 2-2, neither won their division, so the next tiebreaker is conference record and the Spurs (23-25) have that edge wrapped up over the Lakers (16-32).
2. MVP and scoring title races also too close to call
In addition to determining the playoff and Play-In seeds, there are some individual accolades that are still up for grabs entering the final week of play — most notably Kia MVP honors and the league scoring title.
The three-player MVP race: Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid are locked in a fierce battle for the league’s top individual honor this season. You can make a case for all three players to win the award; which will make the best final impression before votes have to be cast?
The historically close three-player scoring title chase: LeBron James (30.3 ppg), Joel Embiid (30.2 ppg) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.1 ppg) have put on the closest three-player race for the league scoring title in NBA history as the margin between them can be altered not just by a single game, but sometimes by a single basket.
The race for the Scoring Title is coming down to the wire!
Read More Here: https://t.co/LL9tQt14wP pic.twitter.com/NDIXFOk5oW
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2022
3. Kyle Lowry returns to Toronto
The long-awaited reunion between Kyle Lowry and Raptors fans in Toronto finally took place on Sunday — 765 days since the last time Lowry had played in Toronto on Feb. 28, 2020. Now a member of the Miami Heat following an offseason trade, the longtime Toronto point guard was showered with love from Raptors fans in his return to The North.
From North Philly to your city… the @Raptors welcome home @Klow7! #KLowinTO pic.twitter.com/z4vQvYDOnj
— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2022
Lowry spent nine seasons in Toronto, where he was not only a key member of their 2019 championship team, but remains the franchise leader in assists (4,277), steals (873), 3-pointers (1,518) and triple-doubles (16).
4. Durant drops career-high 55 points in loss
Kevin Durant has had plenty of big scoring nights over the course of his career, but never as great as Saturday night in Atlanta when he dropped a career-best 55 points in the Nets’ loss to the Hawks. It was Durant’s ninth career 50+ point game and his league-leading third of the season.
Kevin Durant went off for a career-high 55 points and 8 threes.
What a special scorer. pic.twitter.com/EfbWzD2SiN
— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2022
Durant was ridiculously efficient in racking up his points — he shot 19-28 (67.9%) from the field, 8-10 (80%) from 3-point range and 9-11 (81.8%) from the free-throw line. It was only the second time since the 1983-84 season that a player scored that many points while taking fewer than 29 field goal attempts, fewer than 11 3-point attempts and fewer than 12 free throw attempts in a game.
We discussed the scoring title race earlier between LeBron James (30.3 ppg), Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.2 ppg) and Joel Embiid (30.1 ppg). Durant (30.1 ppg) would be right in the middle of this conversation had he met the minimum for games played. Assuming he plays in each of Brooklyn’s final four games, he will finish just three games short of the 58-game threshold for eligibility.
5. Anthony Davis’ return not enough for Lakers
After missing six weeks of action, Anthony Davis made his return to the court for the Lakers on Friday against his former team — the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes, but it was not enough as the Lakers fell 114-111 and suffered a huge blow to their Play-In hopes.
Davis was back on the court Sunday against Denver — although LeBron James was unavailable due to a nagging ankle injury — and pulled off this sweet move in the second quarter.
A second-look at Anthony Davis’ smooth wrap around dribble.
Watch the @Lakers live on ABC pic.twitter.com/YYYLst7p9D
— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2022
In a game that featured 19 lead changes and six ties, the Nuggets pulled away in the fourth quarter, outlasting the Lakers 129-118 for L.A.’s sixth straight loss. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Lakers are in must-win mode if they hope to keep their playoff dreams alive.
6. Paul George returns for Clippers after missing 3 months
After missing more than three months with an elbow injury, Paul George returned for the Clippers on Tuesday and there was no rust to be found on his game as he finished with 34 points, six dimes, six triples and four steals.
In his first game in over 3 months, Paul George (@YG_Trece) ignited the @LAClippers 24-point comeback win by GOING OFF for 20 points in the 3rd quarter! #ClipperNation
🔥 34 PTS | 6 AST | 4 STL | 6 3PM 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9uGogYEn1E
— NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2022
Since George’s return, LA is 3-1, including a win over New Orleans on Sunday that locked up the No. 8 spot in the Play-In Tournament for the Clippers. While they will be on the road for the 7/8 game, the Clippers now have two chances to win one game to secure a playoff berth — win the 7/8 game and they get the No. 7 seed, lose the 7/8 game and play the winner of the 9/10 game for the No. 8 seed.
7. Chris Paul climbs to 4th in steals
Chris Paul continued his impressive climb up the all-time leaderboards this week as he passed Gary Payton (2,445) for fourth place in career steals. Paul (2,449) now trails only Michael Jordan (2,514), Jason Kidd (2,684) and John Stockton (3,265) on the all-time list.
Congrats to @CP3 of the @Suns for moving up to 4th on the all-time total steals list! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/Ja1fnJVdL8
— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2022
Paul needs just 66 steals to pass Jordan, which based on his current steal rate (1.9 per game) would take another 35 games to achieve. If he does that next season, the top three in both assists and steals would have the same three names, in the same order: Stockton, Kidd, Paul. Pretty good point guard company.
8. Ginobili, Hardaway headline Hall of Fame class
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2022 was announced on Saturday from New Orleans at the site of the NCAA Final Four with Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway headlining the 13 inductees, who will be enshrined on Sept. 10 in Springfield.
Hello Class of 2022. 👋 #22HoopClass
📸: Tom Pennington/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/PpAjaWeLG7
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) April 3, 2022
Ginobili is a two-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs and an Olympic gold medalist in 2004 with Argentina. Although he had the talent to start on any team, Ginobili accepted a reserve role in San Antonio that was key to their long-term success. He also popularized a move that is used routinely in today’s game but was a rare sight when Ginobili first entered the NBA as the No. 57 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft — the Europstep.
Hardaway is a five-time NBA All-Star, who split the bulk of his career between Golden State during the Run TMC era (1989-1996) and Miami (1996-2001), before closing out his career in Denver, Dallas and Indiana – breaking ankles with his killer crossover at every stop along the way.
Also joining the class are longtime NBA coach George Karl (who ranks sixth in league history with 1,175 career wins), WNBA stars Swin Cash and Lindsay Whalen, coaches Bob Huggins and Marianne Stanley, and former NBA official Hugh Evans.
9. Week 24 stats leaders
For games played between Monday, March 28 and Sunday April 3, with a minimum of two games played
Points: Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant (40.7 ppg over 3 games), Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (37.3 ppg over 3 games), Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan (36.3 ppg over 4 games)
Rebounds: Utah’s Rudy Gobert (17.7 rpg over 3 games), Denver’s Nikola Jokic (17.3 rpg over 4 games), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (15.0 rpg over 4 games)
Assists: Dallas’ Luka Doncic (11.5 apg over 4 games), Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton (11.0 apg over 4 games), Atlanta’s Trae Young (10.8 apg over 4 games)
Steals: Toronto’s Fred VanVleet (3.8 spg over 4 games), Detroit’s Killian Hayes (3.3 spg over 4 games), Minnesota’s Patrick Beverley and LA’s Paul George (3.0 spg)
Blocks: New York’s Mitchell Robinson (3.0 bpg over 4 games), Sacramento’s Damian Jones (2.5 bpg over 4 games), Brooklyn’s Bruce Brown, Houston’s Bruno Fernando, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Indiana’s Isaiah Jackson (2.0 bpg)
3-pointers made: Houston’s Jalen Green (5.5 3pg over 4 games), Golden State’s Jordan Poole (5.0 3pg over 4 games), Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (5.0 3pm over 3 games)
10. Week 24 top plays
Check out the Top Plays of the Week!