NBA review: Lebron, Lakers out of playoffs; Thunder stays tied with Clippers

LeBron James will miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and Oklahoma City Thunder holds off a surging Clippers team that has won nine of its last 10 games.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Paul George.

Oklahoma City Thunder can feel Los Angeles Clippers breathing down its neck in the Western Conference playoff race, but it managed to keep pace with the surging team Friday after a huge 116-109 win over the Raptors.

Oklahoma City was able to overcome a 37-point effort from Kawhi Leonard to remain in the fifth playoff spot in the West and in a tie with the Clippers (43-30) as Los Angeles has won nine of its last 10 games.

 

The Clippers got a scare of their own when they had to fend off a pesky Cavaliers team in a 110-108 victory on the road. Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting as Los Angeles stopped a fourth-quarter comeback from the Cavs. Cleveland nearly erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter when it cut the lead to one with 10.7 seconds left.

Fortunately for the Clippers, Jordan Clarkson missed a jumper at the buzzer to give Los Angeles the win.

With Los Angeles Lakers' 111-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, the Lakers have been eliminated from playoff contention, meaning LeBron James will not be in the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 NBA season.

READ MORE | LeBron, Lakers eliminated from playoff contention

Studs of the Night

James Harden scored a career-high 61 points in the Rockets' 111-105 win over the Spurs. He now holds all five of Houston's best single-game scoring performances.

READ | NBA: Harden equals own Rockets record

Tying his career-high & @HoustonRockets franchise record of 61 PTS tonight, @JHarden13 tied Elgin Baylor (3) for the 4th-most 60-point games in @NBAHistory! #Rocketspic.twitter.com/1lxxX7HsaB

— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2019

Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas scored 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added 24 rebounds in Memphis' 123-119 overtime loss to the Magic. Terrence Ross scored a game-high 31 in the win for Orlando.

Duds of the Night

This was not Goran Dragic's night. The 32-year-old point guard went 0-for-9 shooting in Miami's 116-87 loss to the Bucks.

Highlights

The Nuggets always make passing by big men look easy and they did it again in their 111-93 win over the Knicks when Mason Plumlee found Nikola Jokic off the rebound.

Mase with the hustle & find!#MileHighBasketballpic.twitter.com/NvSVMrZcA3

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 23, 2019

 

What's Next?

Pistons (37-34) at Trail Blazers (44-27), 10 p.m. ET — With 11 games to play, the Pistons have a seemingly safe 3 1/2-game cushion on the ninth-place Magic for the final playoff spot, but crazier things have happened. Portland, meanwhile, trails the third-place Rockets in the Western Conference by only a half-game.