basketball

NBA playoffs: Nuggets secure No. 3 seed with win over Spurs, sending Lakers to No. 4

By Jason Owensโ€ขYahoo Sports

The Lakers will take on the Rockets in the first round, while the Nuggets and Spurs are on track for a potential second-round showdown.

Despite not trying very hard on Sunday, the Denver Nuggets have secured the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs over the Los Angeles Lakers. A Nuggets team resting four of its five starters on the final day of the NBA regular season beat a shorthanded San Antonio Spurs roster playing without Victor Wembanyama on Sunday, 128-118.

The win locked up the No. 3 seed in the West for the Spurs and ensured that the Los Angeles Lakers would end up the No. 4 seed.

The Lakers likewise secured a win with a 131-107 defeat of the Utah Jazz and had a shot at moving back into the 3 slot on Sunday. But Denverโ€™s win ensured that they would not. With the No.

4 seed, the Lakers will take on the 5th-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The third-seeded Nuggets will take on the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves.