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Oklahoma City could kick its feet up if it really wanted to. Because on Thursday night, with the Los Angeles Lakers’ 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Thunder clinched the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.
It became the second youngest team to secure the top seed in NBA history, just behind last year’s Thunder team.
OKC secured the top spot three weeks earlier than it did a year ago, and just 24 hours after clinching the Northwest Division title. This comes just over a week after the Thunder clinched its playoff spot in a 118-112 win in Boston over the Celtics on March 12, a formality in a dominant regular season.
The Thunder sit at 57-12 as of Thursday night, 12.5 games ahead of the second-seeded Houston Rockets. It boasts the NBA’s best defense (106.1 defensive rating) and fourth-best offense (118.7), complete with the league’s best net rating (12.6).
The NBA Playoffs on April 19.
Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Support Joel's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
More: OKC Thunder still aiming for consistency with officiating and calls across NBA
y-Clinched division; e-Eliminated from playoff contention
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder clinches No. 1 seed in Western Conference for NBA Playoffs
Continue reading...
It became the second youngest team to secure the top seed in NBA history, just behind last year’s Thunder team.
OKC secured the top spot three weeks earlier than it did a year ago, and just 24 hours after clinching the Northwest Division title. This comes just over a week after the Thunder clinched its playoff spot in a 118-112 win in Boston over the Celtics on March 12, a formality in a dominant regular season.
The Thunder sit at 57-12 as of Thursday night, 12.5 games ahead of the second-seeded Houston Rockets. It boasts the NBA’s best defense (106.1 defensive rating) and fourth-best offense (118.7), complete with the league’s best net rating (12.6).
The NBA Playoffs on April 19.
Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Support Joel's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
More: OKC Thunder still aiming for consistency with officiating and calls across NBA
NBA standings: How Western Conference looks after games on March 20
- y-Oklahoma City Thunder: 57-12
- Houston Rockets: 45-25 (12.5 games back)
- Denver Nuggets: 44-26 (13.5 games back)
- Los Angeles Lakers: 43-26 (14 games back)
- Memphis Grizzlies: 43-27 (14.5 games back)
- Golden State Warriors: 40-29 (17 games back)
- Los Angeles Clippers: 39-30 (18 games back)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 40-31 (18 games back)
- Sacramento Kings: 35-34 (22 games back)
- Phoenix Suns: 33-37 (24.5 games back)
- Dallas Mavericks: 33-37 (24.5 games back)
- Portland Trail Blazers: 31-39 (26.5 games back)
- San Antonio Spurs: 29-39 (27.5 games back)
- e-New Orleans Pelicans: 19-51 (38.5 games back)
- e-Utah Jazz: 16-54 (41.5 games back)
y-Clinched division; e-Eliminated from playoff contention
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder clinches No. 1 seed in Western Conference for NBA Playoffs
Continue reading...
