The Los Angeles Clippers lost Thursday night in Phoenix, falling 93-90 to the Suns in a nationally televised game on TNT. That win for Phoenix put them into a tie with the Utah Jazz for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with three games remaining.
The Clippers still have a shot at the Pacific Division crown and the No. 3 seed, but they need five out of six things to go their way in the final three games for both the Clippers and Lakers. More likely, the Clippers seem destined for the No. 4 seed, where they would get home court advantage for the first time in franchise history.
Here are the Western Conference standings:
| NBA Western Conference Standings | |||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | Pct | GB | Remaining Games |
| 1 | San Antonio |
45-16 | .738 | --- | 3 home / 2 road |
| 2 | Oklahoma City |
45-17 | .726 | ½ | 2 home / 2 road |
| 3 | Lakers | 40-23 | .635 | 6 | 1 home / 2 road |
| 4 | Clippers | 39-24 | .619 | 7 | 1 home / 2 road |
| 5 | Memphis | 37-25 | .597 | 8½ | 3 home / 1 road |
| 6 | Dallas | 35-28 | .556 | 11 | 1 home / 2 road |
| 7 | Denver | 34-28 | .548 | 11½ | 1 home / 3 road |
| 8 | Phoenix | 33-30 | .524 | 13 | 2 home / 1 road |
| 8 | Utah | 33-30 | .524 | 13 | 3 home / 0 road |
| 10 | Houston | 32-31 | .508 | 14 | 2 home / 1 road |
| Through games of April 19 | |||||
Houston lost on the road in New Orleans, putting a damper on their playoff hopes. Phoenix holds the tiebreaker with Utah, but it looks like Tuesday's Suns vs. Jazz tilt in Salt Lake City. Here are the relevant games on Friday's schedule:
5:30 p.m. - Golden State at Dallas
6:30 p.m. - Los Angeles at San Antonio
7 p.m. - Oklahoma City at Sacramento
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.