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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, center right, greets fans after an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Friday, April 10, 2026, in San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Darren Abate\/AP<\/p>\n
From left, Oklahoma City Thunder players Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe look on from the bench in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Friday, April 10, 2026, in Denver.<\/p>\n
David Zalubowski\/AP<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, front, confers with referee Zach Zarba in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Friday, April 10, 2026, in Denver.<\/p>\n
David Zalubowski\/AP<\/p>\n
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Phelps\/AP<\/p>\n
The Oklahoma City-Denver game could have starred the NBA’s two most recent MVPs: the reigning one in Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a three-time winner in Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic.<\/p>\n
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Except they both sat out. They weren’t alone.<\/p>\n
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All the other regular starters for the Thunder and Nuggets were ruled out, too. And around the league, no fewer than 168 players \u2014 including 14 members of the Memphis Grizzlies \u2014 were held out on Friday night because of injuries or illnesses.<\/p>\n
Every team in the league was playing game 81 \u2014 the next-to-last game \u2014 of their seasons on Friday night. They’re all off Saturday, and then all teams play again Sunday to close the regular season.<\/p>\n
Some teams had something to play for Friday. Some did not. Sometimes, that didn’t seem to matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we didn\u2019t clinch (the No. 1 overall seed) coming into tonight, everybody would be playing,\u201d Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told reporters before the game. \u201cWe\u2019ve earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Oklahoma City already had the No. 1 seed for the entirety of the postseason wrapped up, so rest and health appear to be the priority for the Thunder.<\/p>\n
The Nuggets entered Friday still having seeding to play for, and in Jokic’s case, there’s still award eligibility to obtain. He needs to play in one more game, so it would seem likely that the Nuggets will play him on Sunday so he can get on the ballot for MVP, All-NBA and other awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re all aware of that,\u201d Nuggets coach David Adelman told reporters.<\/p>\n
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Some players got to award eligibility with a few extra minutes to spare.<\/p>\n
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, needing to play 20 minutes to reach the 65-game standard and be eligible for postseason awards, was taken out after hitting exactly that number of minutes \u2014 then went back into the game, evidently having persuaded the Spurs that he needed a bit more on-court work.<\/p>\n
He finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had 65 (games) before, I for sure wouldn’t have played,\u201d Wembanyama said.<\/p>\n
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Said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson: \u201cWe need as much on-the-job training, on-the-court experience together as we can. That’s what we’re trying to do without overdoing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was also a record shooting effort on Friday. Boston made 29 3-pointers, tying the record for 3s in a game. It was the fourth time in NBA history a team made 29, and the second time this week after Memphis did it on Monday in a loss to Cleveland.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, we didn’t use them all up in one game,\u201d Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.<\/p>\n
Play-in dress rehearsal for Warriors?<\/p>\n
Not everybody was resting for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
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Golden State was building for the postseason \u2014 or, at least, what it hopes will be a playoff run. The Warriors are going to the play-in tournament and tuned up by getting Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup together for the first time this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll just take a look at that tonight,\u201d Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cWe have a season full of data and film on some of the combinations. But some of decisions we have to make, there\u2019s no data. It\u2019s just kind of a hunch so we have give some of that a look tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playoff picture becomes clearer<\/p>\n
Atlanta became the 11th team to grab one of the 12 guaranteed playoff spots, rolling past a Cleveland team that sat Donovan Mitchell.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt feels great,\u201d guard CJ McCollum said after the Hawks clinched either the No. 5 or No. 6 spot in the East. \u201cThe guys did a great job of rallying together.”<\/p>\n
In other playoff-related news:<\/p>\n
\u2014 Boston secured No. 2 in the East, behind No. 1 Detroit (which had previously clinched).<\/p>\n
\u2014 New York locked up No. 3 in the East.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Cleveland is certain to be No. 4 in the East after that loss to the Hawks.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Atlanta knows it will be in the playoffs, either as the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Charlotte will be in the play-in tournament after falling to Detroit.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Orlando will be in no worse than the 7-vs.-8 play-in game in the East.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Miami is locked into the 9-vs.-10 play-in game in the East.<\/p>\n
AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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