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Clippers, Timberwolves win to secure NBA play-off spot
The Clippers finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 124-119 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors, who drop into the play-in tournament.
James Harden scored 12 of his game-high 39 points in overtime as the Clippers set up a play-off meeting with the Denver Nuggets, who had already qualified for the play-offs but clinched fourth place by beating the Houston Rockets 126-111.
Anthony Edwards top-scored with 43 points as the Timberwolves beat the Utah Jazz 116-105 to finish sixth and set-up a play-off with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The play-offs begin with the play-in tournament between the four teams finishing seventh to 10th in the regular season.
Seventh play eighth – with the winners going straight into the play-offs to face the second seed.
But the losers get a second chance, as they then face the winners of the play-in match between the teams in ninth and 10th. The losers of that game are eliminated, while the winners go into the play-offs to face the top seeds.
Play-off rounds are decided by a best-of-seven series, with match-ups decided by seedings.
The first round is followed by the conference semi-finals, then the conference finals, with the winners of each conference meeting in the NBA Finals.
The NBA play-ins take place between Wednesday and Friday. The play-offs are scheduled between 19 April and 2 June.