Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic recorded another triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers slumped below .500 again following a 133-96 humiliation at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Nuggets center Jokic finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists and brought up his triple-double in the third quarter, as Denver piled on 73 first-half points before restricting the Lakers to only 36 points in the second half.
LeBron James scored 25 points with nine rebounds and two blocks for the Lakers, while Russell Westbrook had 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The defeat means the Lakers, who are still without Anthony Davis due to injury, move to a 21-22 record after losing three games in a row.
Bones Hyland was brilliant off the bench for Denver, who improve to 22-19, with a career-high 27 points including six triples and 10 rebounds.
Durant injured as Nets win
Kevin Durant limped out with a knee sprain as James Harden had 27 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists while Patty Mills scored 21 points as the Brooklyn Nets won 120-105 over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Pascal Siakam over-shadowed Giannis Antetokounmpo with a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Toronto Raptors won 103-96 over the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo scored 30 points with six rebounds and four assists.
Jayson Tatum had 23 points with 12 rebounds as the Boston Celtics won 114-112 to condemn the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls to three straight losses, while Darius Garland had 27 points and a career-high 18 assists in the Cleveland Cavaliers' comeback 107-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Butler struggles as Heat go cold
Jimmy Butler struggled from the field, making one of 11 for his eight points as the Miami Heat's four-game winning streak was ended by the in-form Philadelphia 76ers 109-98. Joel Embiid had 32 points with 12 rebounds for the 76ers.
Joel Embiid 'ready to go' for play-ins – Nurse
Joel Embiid will be "ready to go" for the Philadelphia 76ers when they host the Miami Heat, coach Nick Nurse has confirmed.
The reigning MVP sat out the Sixers' 107-86 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Sunday's regular-season finale at Wells Fargo Center.
Embiid returned from a two-month lay-off against the Oklahoma City Thunder two weeks ago, but his status has been questionable for every game since.
And after missing the Nets game, concerns were raised with regards to his status ahead of Wednesday's 7-8 play-in contest with the Heat.
However, Nurse allayed any fears regarding the fitness of Embiid, who practised with the rest of his team-mates on Saturday.
"He did everything at practice yesterday," Nurse said after the Nets win. "But we decided out of caution to hold him out. He'll be ready to go."
Despite winning their final eight games, the Sixers finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and are set to contest their first play-in contest.
As a result of other results over the weekend, the Heat now stand between Philadelphia and a place in the playoffs.
"Obviously, we've had some great battles with them, and we always expect that facing them," Nurse said.
"The mindset is we're playing well and do everything we can, like we've been doing for the last month.
"We're digging in and playing our guys and doing whatever we have to do to win. We've got a good mindset, and we'll take that into Wednesday."
Allen reportedly agrees to 4-year, $70million extension with Suns
When Grayson Allen takes the court for the Phoenix Suns in their first play-off game this weekend, he'll be playing with a new contract.
Allen and the Suns agreed to a four-year, $70million extension on Monday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The six-year veteran is coming off his best NBA season, averaging career highs of 13.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.92 steals while starting 74 of 75 contests.
He also shot a league-leading 46.1 per cent from 3-point range and averaged a career-best 2.7 made 3-pointers per game.
He had seven games this season with at least eight made 3-pointers, and only the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry had more such games with eight.
The 21st overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, Allen joined the Suns last off-season as part of the three-team trade that saw Damian Lillard go to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Prior to being acquired by Phoenix, Allen spent one season with the Jazz, two with the Memphis Grizzlies and two in Milwaukee.
He averaged 9.7 points per game in his first five seasons before becoming an important part of Phoenix's offence in 2023-24.
In the 30 games Allen scored at least 14 points, the Suns went 22-8, compared to going 27-25 when he scored 13 or fewer.
Phoenix won 10 of its last 14 games to end the season 49-33, and finish in sixth place in the Western Conference.
The Suns will face the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in a first-round play-off series, beginning on Saturday.
'No doubt' Davis will face the Pelicans
The Los Angeles Lakers will have Anthony Davis to call on when they face the New Orleans Pelicans in their upcoming play-in game.
After finishing eighth in the Western Conference, the Lakers will go up against the No.7 seed Pelicans on Tuesday.
While the loser will drop into a game against either the Sacramento Kings or the Golden State Warriors, the winner will go up against the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
The Lakers defeated the Pelicans 124-108 in their final regular-season game on Sunday, with an instant rematch now on the cards.
And Davis, who had to be treated for back spasms after the game, insisted he will be fit to feature.
"No doubt that I'm going to play," said Davis, who finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds.
LeBron James is heading into the playoffs in fine form.
He registered his fifth triple-double of the season, finishing with 28 points, a season-high 17 assists and 11 rebounds.
"I just read the game and I was just finding my teammates and I just tried to put the ball on time and on target for either jump shots or guys at the rim," James said.
"I just tried to be very efficient with my play."
James marked Zion Williamson on Sunday, with the 23-year-old limited to 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
However, James was full of praise for his opponent, adding: "He's a beast.
"I mean, it's almost impossible to stop him so I just tried to keep a body on him and just tried to keep it tough on him. He's a great player, man."
Looking towards Tuesday's matchup, James said: "Tuesday's game is going to be extremely hard, extremely difficult, extremely physical.
"I've always known that, when you play a playoff series, and I look at this like a two-game playoff series, if you win that first game, a team has multiple days to kind of sit on that feeling, or sit with that taste in their mouth of defeat.
"So they're going to be extremely ready for us and we have to come in with the same sense of urgency that we had the previous game."
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