How Suns Win Impacted Warriors, Lakers

The Phoenix Suns' win sealed fates of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.

Apr 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) controls the ball | Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns' 124-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday meant a few different things for the playoff picture out West.

The victory kept the Suns' hopes of evading the play-in tournament alive as the pursuit for the No. 6 spot is still possible with just two games remaining on Phoenix's schedule. They'll need the New Orleans Pelicans to drop one of their remaining contests to jump out of their current seventh seeding.

Los Angeles' loss also sees our first playoff matchup locked in out West, as the Clippers will face the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of postseason play. Dallas/Los Angeles will still battle for the No. 4 seed and rights to host home-court advantage as the regular season draws to a conclusion.

We already know two teams who are locked into play-in territory, too. Phoenix's win ensured neither the Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors could grab the sixth seed, and now the likes of LeBron James and Steph Curry will battle to get into the postseason before the NBA Playoffs officially start on April 20.

It's also a tight race up top in the West, as the Denver Nuggets' win over the Minnesota Timberwolves placed them at No. 1 in the conference with one game leads over Minnesota and the Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

The last day of the regular season is Sunday, April 14. Phoenix battles the Sacramento Kings on Friday before playing Minnesota to close out the 2023-24 schedule.