The Basketball Diaries

Denver Nuggets 115 Golden State Warriors 104

Normally a battle for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs is a pointless exercise. Odds are the team that does win it is going to end up getting their asses kicked in the first round anyway, but not this year. This year in the West the 8th seed is just as good as the 1st seed, and the Nuggets went a long way in helping make sure they lock it up. By overcoming an early 16-point deficit to beat the Warriors in Oakland on Thursday night, the Nuggets put themselves a game ahead of the Warriors in the battle for the final spot. Allen Iverson had 33 points, Carmelo had 25, and J.R. Smith contributed off the bench with 24 of his own. "Everybody knew what was at stake," Iverson said. "It's easy for players to say it's just another game. But everybody knows it wasn't just another game. It was a game that both teams felt they had to have." Even more important than that one game lead is the fact this win also gives Denver the tie-breaker if they should finish with the same record as Golden State. All Denver needs to do is win two of their last three and it's theirs, though it won't be that easy with a trip to Utah next, and two home games against Houston and Memphis. Okay, so Memphis will be easy.

Dallas Mavericks 97 Utah Jazz 94

The reason there's only one spot left out west to play for is because Dirk Nowitzki's three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left (which answered a game tying three by Deron Williams seconds earlier) gave the Mavs a big win over the Jazz, and clinched a playoff spot. Nowitzki finished the game with 32 points, and Jason Terry scored 21, but the duo was responsible for 25 of Dallas' 4th quarter points. "I heard people say we wouldn't even make the playoffs, but now we're in," Terry added. "Tonight, we took another step in the right direction. We have to treat all these games like playoff games. We have a long way to go but winning games like these is big for us." And I'll fully admit I was one of those people who said Dallas would miss the playoffs, and I was wrong. It happens from time to time, kind of like Haley's Comet, except rarererererer.

Los Angeles Lakers 116 Los Angeles Clippers 78

The Clippers have long been the red-headed stepchild of the LA basketball scene (behind both UCLA and USC, not just the Lakers), and the Lakers beat them like it on Thursday night. The 38-point victory gave the Lakers a series sweep over the Clippers this season, and moved them within 1.5 games of New Orleans for the top spot out west. Luke Walton led the Lakers with 18 points as every single Lakers starter sat out the 4th quarter, save for Lamar Odom. Kobe finished the night with a rather pedestrian 16, but who cares, take away his points and the Lakers still win by 22.