There was only one game that had Western Conference playoff implications last night.
The Jazz locked up a playoff spot with their 112-97 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Rookie of the Year hopeful Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Joe Ingles added 22 points and 10 assists.
What pass from Mitchell to Ingles is better?
It was Utah’s fifth-straight win and clinched a playoff berth for a team that lost Gordon Hayward this offseason and was written off by many around All-Star break. An incredible job from Quin Snyder to make the most of the pieces on his team.
The Jazz are 47-33 and are two games ahead of the Wolves. It’s possible that the Wolves can still leapfrog Utah with two Wolves wins (Minnesota plays Memphis on Monday and Denver on Wednesday) and two Jazz losses (Utah closes the season out at home against the Warriors and at Portland on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively).
Utah and Minnesota are 2-2 against each other, but the Wolves are 9-6 in the division compared to Utah’s 7-8 mark, thus giving Minnesota the tiebreaker.
The Wolves are hoping to clinch on Monday night with a win over the Grizzlies, a Nuggets loss to Portland and a San Antonio win over the Kings.
Does your head hurt yet?
We’ll preview tonight’s games later this afternoon.