The defending NBA champion did not provide details for the final game of the regular season. The Golden State Warriors secured their place in the playoffs by winning well on Sunday, April 9, against the Portland Trail Blazers (157-101), setting a new NBA record with 55 points scored in the first quarter.
Star Stephen Curry scored 26 points, with a 5-of-10 3-point address. Three other players scored 20 or more points – Klay Thompson (20), Jordan Poole (21) and 20-year-old Moses Moody (25) – to allow the Californians to defend their title directly without going through the play-offs (“play-in”).
“The season has been marked by ups and downs, but when you get to the playoffs, none of that matters”said Draymond Green, the Warriors player.
In a particularly tight Western Conference, where five franchises were competing for places 5 to 9 for this last day of the regular season, the defending champions finished behind the Los Angeles Clippers, who confirmed their fifth place by beating the Phoenix Suns (119- 114), which they will also find in the first round of the playoffs.
Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook each scored 25 points, Norman Powell added 29, in a game also marked by a small altercation between teammates Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland, illustrating the tension experienced by the Clippers in this last game.
But this victory forces the other Los Angeles club, the Lakers and their megastar LeBron James, to go through the play-offs to hope to play the playoffs, despite a final success against Utah Jazz (128-117). “Our team is very well organized”said James, author of 36 points “We have a good balance. We’ve done a good job building a team that adapts to AD [Anthony Davis] and to myself after the break. We’re just trying to make it work on the pitch. »
“Unacceptable” behavior
The Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-offs, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans (113-108), in a match marked by a verbal and then physical altercation between Rudy Gobert and his teammate, Kyle Anderson, during a timeout while the Timberwolves were down 48-36, nearly four minutes from halftime.
According to ESPN, Anderson told Gobert to block shots, to which the Frenchman told him to take a rebound. Anderson then called Gobert a “asshole” asking him to ” shut up “. The Frenchman then punched Anderson in the chest before players separated the two teammates, but according to The Athleticthe altercation continued in the locker room at half-time, with new insults.
Oh my Rudy Gobert just threw a punch at his own teammate Kyle Anderson https://t.co/6GP5wwkCqW
Gobert was sent home by his team. “His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue to manage the situation internally”said Tim Connelly, general manager of the Timberwolves.
Newsletter
“Paris 2024”
“Le Monde” deciphers the news and the challenges of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Register
“Veterans can get angry too, so I don’t want to be too hard on him”coach Chris Finch said of Gobert, three-time defender of the year, “but obviously that’s not something we’re going to tolerate here”.
The French pivot apologized on Twittera few hours after the incident.
Emotions got the better of me today. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, regardless of what was said. I want to apologize to the fans, the organization and especially to Kyle who is someone I really love and respect as a teammate.
“We will talk about it and we will move forward”Anderson said. “We are adults. »
“Now we have to focus on what we have, and we have the Lakers”wanted to conclude, for his part, the coach.
The loser of the Lakers-Timberwolves playoff will face the winner of the other game between the Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder for a final chance to make the playoffs.
An 83-game season for Mikal Bridges
All the NBA franchises played on Sunday, but in the East the matches had almost no stakes, with each team already assured of their place. The Sixers and Nets, however, offered a taste of the series that awaits them at 1er playoff round. Without Joel Embiid and James Harden, who were rested, the Sixers beat the Nets 134-106.
For the record, Mikal Bridges played a few seconds for the Nets in order to play his 83e game of the season, playing one game more than the normal number in a regular season, due to his transfer from Phoenix in February.
The game between the Hawks and the Celtics, which could also be a series of 1er round of the playoffs according to the result of the play-offs, ended in a 120-114 victory for Boston, despite the absence of stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Already guaranteed to finish with the best record in the NBA (58 wins, 24 losses), the Milwaukee Bucks, without Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Khris Middleton (knee), lost their last game against the Raptors (121-105).
Now is the time in both conferences for the pressure and excitement of the playoffs. “The real season begins”analyzed Draymond Green, knowingly with his four championship rings, “and that’s what matters”.
