Phoenix Suns finish regular season as No. 2 seed in Western Conference
May 16, 2021, 8:19 PM | Updated: May 17, 2021, 7:31 am
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns celebrates with Mikal Bridges #25, Jae Crowder #99, Deandre Ayton #22 and Chris Paul #3 after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA game at PHX Arena on December 23, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
With the Phoenix Suns just half a game back of the Utah Jazz and owning the tiebreaker for first seed in the Western Conference, there was some hope in the Sunday-night finale when the Jazz struggled out the gate against the Sacramento Kings.
But with the top seed on the line, the Jazz caught up and pulled away. They took down the Kings 121-99 to finish with a record of 52-20, the best record in the NBA and one game above the Suns.
The Jazz clinched the top seed with the win. The Suns get the second seed.
Now, Phoenix will wait on the results of the play-in tournament to see who their first-round playoff opponent will be.
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The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, sticking the Los Angeles Lakers in seventh place. The Lakers and eighth-place Golden State Warriors will face off in the play-in game to determine which team gets the seventh seed and faces the Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
Los Angeles closed the season on a five-game win streak. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be looking to lead the Lakers back to the NBA Finals, but they’ll have to get through the play-in first to do so.
Warriors star Steph Curry leads the NBA in scoring this season. His 46-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday earned Golden State the eighth seed and a chance to play for seventh.
With the regular-season standings finalized, Phoenix finally gets some real clarity of who might be its first playoff opponent since 2010.
