Thunder stayed with #1 in the NBA, Spurs won without Wemby, Cunningham returned to the Pistons and Jokic shone to the Nuggets

Oklahoma City Thunder confirmed this Wednesday that it was the best team in the NBA regular series, San Antonio Spurs achieved another victory despite the absence of Victor WembanyamaCade Cunningham returned for the season finale with Detroit Pistons and Nikola Jokic recorded a new triple-double for another success of Denver Nuggets.

Chet Holmgren scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists and Jalen Williams contributed 18 points in the victory of Oklahoma City Thunder 128-110 over Los Angeles Clippers which assured him the best record of the season.

The Thunder (64-16), the last NBA champion, will have home field advantage throughout the postseason in their attempt to defend the title after finishing ahead of San Antonio (61-19), which is on an 18-2 streak since February.

Oklahoma City won 7 games in a row and 19 of 20 to take first place in the West for the third consecutive season.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Brook Lopez added 16 for the eighth-ranked Clippers, who had won seven of their last nine games.

The Clippers travel to Portland on Friday for a crucial game: The winner will almost certainly finish eighth in the Western Conference, while the loser will drop to ninth place, where they will need two wins in the play-in tournament to get into the playoffs.

San Antonio Spurs victory without Wembanyama

San Atnonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 112-101despite having Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle out due to injuries. De’Aaron Fox was the Spurs’ leading scorer with 25 points.

San Antonio (61-19) is 28-3 since Feb. 1 and is posting its best season since 2017, its last Western Conference Finals appearance during a 22-year postseason run that included five NBA championships.

The Spurs had six players in double figures to make up for the absence of the two most recent NBA Rookie of the Year winners. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points and rookie forward Carter Bryant added a season-high 17.

Deni Avdija added 27 points and Scoot Henderson added 20 for the Trail Blazers, who lost two in a row after a three-win streak.

Portland (40-40) remains ninth in the West, just 2 1/2 games ahead of Golden State (37-42) heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Cade Cunningham returned in the Detroit Pistons’ victory

Cade Cunningham scored 13 points and dished out 10 assists in his return from a knee injury. the victory of the Detroit Pistons 137-111 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Detroit won its final home game of the regular season.

Cunningham had not played since March 17, when he suffered a pneumothorax in a win against the Washington Wizards. He seemed comfortable playing 26 minutes in short appearances. He made 6 of 11 field goals, including a triple, and grabbed 5 rebounds.

Jalen Duren added 21 points and 9 rebounds and Duncan Robinson scored 20 points on a night in which JB Bickerstaff kept the starting five under 30 minutes.

Detroit (58-22) can reach 60 wins for the first time since the 2005-2006 season if it wins against the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers in its final two games.

Jericho Sims had a triple-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Ryan Rollins scored 23 points for Milwaukee, which lost 10 of its last 13 games.

Another stellar night for Nikola Jokic at Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic scored 14 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out 10 assists for his 34th triple-double of the season in Denver Nuggets’ success 136-119 over Memphis Grizzlies.

Jokic, who leads the NBA in rebounds and assists, has already secured a triple-double average for the second consecutive season.

Denver (52-28) strengthened its hold on third place in the Western Conference with its 10th straight victory. The Nuggets lead the Los Angeles Lakers by 1 1/2 games and close the regular season with games against the two best teams in the Western Conference.

Jamal Murray scored 26 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points in his 1,000th NBA game.

Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley added 22 points and tied his personal best with 19 rebounds and James Harden contributed 21 points to Cleveland Cavaliers, who defeated the Atlanta Hawks 122-116.

The Cavs (51-29), who have won four games in a row, cannot finish lower than fourth place in the Eastern Conference and are 1/2 game behind the New York Knicks in the dispute for third place.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 for the Hawks who have yet to clinch a playoff berth.

Orlando Magic beat Minnesota Timberwolves 132-120 with 20 points and 8 rebounds from Paolo Banchero plus 18 points and 6 assists from Desmond Bane.

In the Magic’s fourth straight victory, Franz Wagner contributed 17 points and Goga Bitadze came off the bench to contribute 14 points and 15 rebounds.

The win propelled the Magic (44-36) to seventh place in the tight race for playoff/play-in positions in the Eastern Conference, while the Wolves are already assured of a playoff spot in the West.

Devin Booker scored 37 points, Dillon Brooks added 28 and Phoenix Suns defeated Dallas Mavericks 112-107.

The Suns clinched the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoff race, meaning they will have two chances at home to win a play-in game.