Thunder clinch West’s top seed, best record

LOS ANGELES — The Oklahoma City Thunder locked up the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed and the NBA’s best regular-season record with a 128-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Chet Holmgren led the reigning NBA champions with 30 points and 14 rebounds, while NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists as Oklahoma City stretched its winning streak to seven games and improved to 64-16 with two games left in the regular season.

The victory gave the Thunder the West’s top seed for the third straight year and secured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Holmgren, who also had five assists, two steals and four blocked shots, said the home-court edge could matter deeply once the postseason tightens.

“It’s extremely important,” said Holmgren. “Just knowing that in the event of a game seven it’s always going to be at home. We saw that in the playoffs last year twice, so it’s extremely important.”

“It’s great to see that the hard work has paid off in one way, and now we’ve got more to do,” Holmgren added.

Oklahoma City’s win also locked the surging San Antonio Spurs into the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

San Antonio beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 112-101, despite the absence of superstar Victor Wembanyama, who sat out with a bruised rib, and Stephon Castle.

De’Aaron Fox scored 25 points to lead a balanced Spurs attack, while Keldon Johnson added 20 points off the bench and rookie reserve Carter Bryant contributed 17.

The Denver Nuggets tightened their grip on third place in the West with a 136-119 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Nikola Jokic powered Denver with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his 34th triple-double of the season and the 198th of his career, while Jamal Murray scored 26 points as the Nuggets won their 10th straight game — their first double-digit winning streak of Jokic’s tenure.

Denver’s surge moved the Nuggets farther ahead of the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers in the race for the No. 3 seed in the West.

In the Eastern Conference, top-seeded Detroit welcomed star guard Cade Cunningham back in a 137-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Cunningham, who had missed 11 games with a collapsed lung, scored 13 points and handed out 10 assists in just under 26 minutes on the floor.

Jalen Duren scored 21 points to lead the Pistons, who had seven players score in double figures.

Detroit has already secured the East’s top seed and home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs, and the return of Cunningham and teammate Isaiah Stewart, sidelined since March 13 with a calf strain, gives the Pistons time to rebuild rhythm before the NBA playoffs begin on April 18.

“There is no way to replicate NBA basketball,” Bickerstaff said.

In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley added 22 points and 19 rebounds, and James Harden chipped in 21 points as the Cavaliers held off the Atlanta Hawks, 122-116.

The Cavaliers notched a fourth straight victory and are assured of a top-four seed in the East, while continuing to chase the New York Knicks for third place.

Atlanta remained fifth in the East, just half a game ahead of sixth-placed Toronto, and still faced the risk of slipping into the play-in tournament reserved for the teams that finish seventh through 10th.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 off the bench for the Hawks, who cut an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to two but got no closer.

The Orlando Magic also kept their hopes of avoiding the play-in alive with a fourth straight win after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 132-120.