The Los Angeles Clippers closed out their three-game road trip with a win Thursday night in Minnesota, giving them two straight wins and nine victories in their last 11 contests. Coupled with the Memphis Grizzlies' loss in San Antonio, the Clippers are moving closer to securing home court advantage in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.
The Clippers' win moved them to within a game of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division, though the Lakers hold the tiebreaker by winning the season series.
| NBA Western Conference Standings | |||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | Pct | GB | Remaining Games |
| 3 | Lakers | 37-22 | .627 | --- | 4 home / 3 road |
| 4 | Clippers | 36-23 | .610 | 1 | 3 home / 4 road |
| 5 | Memphis | 34-24 | .586 | 2½ | 5 home / 3 road |
| Through games of April 12 | |||||
Memphis lost 107-97 on the road to the Spurs, and now the Clippers now hold a game and a half advantage over Memphis for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. The Clippers hold the tiebreaker with the Grizzlies by winning their season series.
The Clippers' magic number - the number of Clippers wins and Grizzlies losses - to clinch the No. 4 seed is six, with seven games remaining.
The Lakers host the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on Friday night. Their magic number to clinch the Pacific Division over the Clippers is six.
For more news and notes on Lakers basketball, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll. For all your Clippers information, be sure to read Clips Nation.