Jokic stars as the Nuggets secure the third seed in the final game

Nikola Jokic scored 23 points in a first-half game as the Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118 to clinch the third seed in the Western Conference on the final day of the NBA regular season.

Denver’s win meant the Los Angeles Lakers finished in fourth place in the Western Conference for the NBA playoffs, which begin this weekend.

Announcement

The Lakers, missing their leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to injury, defeated the Utah Jazz 131-107.

Veteran Lakers star LeBron James, 41, impressed with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in the first half.

Denver will host the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, while the Lakers will welcome the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets.

Three-time Most Valuable Player Jokic, 31, who also recorded eight rebounds, played just over 18 minutes at Texas to reach 65 games and become eligible for the league’s end-of-season awards.

Denver’s Julian Strawther scored 25 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Announcement

De’Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 24 points while MVP contender Victor Wembanyama was rested following his 40-point performance in a 139-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Second-seeded San Antonio, which secured its playoff berth against the Mavericks, will host the winner of the in-play tournament game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns in the first round.

The in-play tournament is a round-robin competition that follows the regular season, in which eight teams compete to establish the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, who are defending NBA champions and the top seeds in the West, as well as the Eastern Conference’s first and second seeds, the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, will find out their first-round opponents once tournament in-play ends on Friday.