The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed Kobe Bryant back after seven games on Friday night, but it wasn't enough to overcome the top team in the Western Conference. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Lakers 121-97 Friday night, putting a damper on the Lakers' hopes to clinch the Pacific Division.
The Lakers still have a magic number of two to clinch their fifth straight division title, while the Clippers have a magic number of four to do the same.
The two best teams in the Western Conference, the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, both won Friday night, with the Thunder winning 103-92 in Sacramento. Here are the Western Conference standings through Friday:
| NBA Western Conference Standings | |||||
| Seed | Team | W-L | Pct | GB | Remaining Games |
| 1 | San Antonio (w) |
46-16 | .742 | --- | 2 home / 2 road |
| 2 | Oklahoma City (w) |
46-17 | .730 | ½ | 2 home / 1 road |
| 3 | Lakers (l) |
40-24 | .625 | 7 | 1 home / 1 road |
| 4 | Clippers | 39-24 | .619 | 7½ | 1 home / 2 road |
| 5 | Memphis | 37-25 | .597 | 9 | 3 home / 1 road |
| 6 | Dallas (w) |
36-28 | .563 | 11 | 0 home / 2 road |
| 7 | Denver | 34-28 | .548 | 12 | 1 home / 3 road |
| 8 | Phoenix | 33-30 | .524 | 13½ | 2 home / 1 road |
| 8 | Utah | 33-30 | .524 | 13½ | 3 home / 0 road |
| 10 | Houston | 32-31 | .508 | 14½ | 2 home / 1 road |
| Through games of April 20 | |||||
Here are the relevant games on Saturday's schedule:
2:30 p.m. - Denver at Phoenix
5 p.m. - Dallas at Chicago
5 p.m. - Golden State at Houston
5 p.m. - Portland at Memphis
7:30 p.m. - Orlando at Utah
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.