The NBA's stretch run has arrived. Here's a look at what's happening

A seven-game slate awaits in the NBA on Wednesday, including a possible first-round matchup between Atlanta and Cleveland.

Orlando can take a big step toward assuring it'll stay out of the 9 vs. 10 play-in game in the Eastern Conference when it takes on Minnesota. Denver can move closer to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference when it plays host to Memphis.

And the West play-in standings might get a bit more clear.

The Los Angeles Clippers take on Oklahoma City, while Portland meets San Antonio. The Clippers enter Wednesday with a one-game edge on the Trail Blazers in the race for the No. 8 spot out West.

Stories of note

Doc Rivers hints at retirement

The playoffs, thankfully, are coming

Miami returning to the play-in tournament

JJ Redick gets a bit feisty in Lakers' loss

Jayson Tatum set for return to New York

The Bulls want to keep Billy Donovan

Who's in and who's out?

Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.

— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit has locked up the No. 1 seed and will open the postseason on April 19. Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Toronto would get the other two guaranteed spots, but those are not clinched.

— East play-in teams: Miami is locked into the play-in for the fourth consecutive year. Entering Wednesday, the other three teams headed there would be Philadelphia, Orlando and Charlotte.

— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.

— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota are in.

— West play-in teams: Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland and Golden State are in. The Warriors will be the No. 10 seed.

— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.

Tuesday recap

— Timberwolves 124, Pacers 104: Wolves clinch playoff spot, despite 20 turnovers.

— Raptors 121, Heat 95: Miami locked into fourth consecutive play-in tournament.

— Celtics 113, Hornets 102: Jaylen Brown scores 35, Boston gave up 41 in second half.

— Warriors 110, Kings 105: Stephen Curry kept making plays late, saved Golden State.

— Thunder 123, Lakers 87: Banged-up Lakers may lose home-court edge for Round 1.

— Clippers 116, Mavericks 103: Kawhi Leonard scores 34, Clippers hang on to 8th spot.

— Rockets 119, Suns 105: Houston wins 50th, 7th straight, rallies from 21-point deficit.

— Bulls 129, Wizards 98: Washington now an NBA-worst 3-23 since the All-Star break.

— Nets 96, Bucks 90: Milwaukee's Doc Rivers dropped retirement hint before the game.

— Pelicans 156, Jazz 134: Bez Mbeng 3rd Jazz player to play all 48 minutes this season.

Wednesday's schedule

— Atlanta at Cleveland: A very possible East first-round preview.

— Minnesota at Orlando: Wolves are in, now can focus on health.

— Milwaukee at Detroit: Giannis Antetokounmpo still wants to play.

— Memphis at Denver: Nuggets chasing No. 3 seed, need a win here.

— Portland at San Antonio: Blazers have work to do to avoid 9-10 game.

— Oklahoma City at LA Clippers: Clippers have work to do to avoid 9-10 game.

— Dallas at Phoenix: Suns almost certainly will be No. 7 seed for play-in.

Thursday's schedule

— Miami at Toronto: Raptors looking to sweep teams' four-game season series.

— Chicago at Washington: Bulls led the Wizards by as many as 37 on Tuesday.

— Indiana at Brooklyn: Pacers' Rick Carlisle (family reasons) out next two games.

— Boston at New York: Jayson Tatum returns to MSG, where he got hurt last spring.

— Philadelphia at Houston: Rockets charging toward home-court edge for Round 1.

— LA Lakers at Golden State: Injuries crushing Lakers, who have lost three straight.

National TV schedule

Wednesday on ESPN: Atlanta-Cleveland (7 p.m. Eastern) and Portland-San Antonio (9:30 p.m.).

Thursday on Prime Video: Boston-New York (7:30 p.m. Eastern) and LA Lakers-Golden State (10 p.m.)

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+130) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1200), Cleveland (+1200) and New York (+2000). Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2200. The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they're +30000 now.

Key dates

— Friday: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.

— Sunday: All 30 teams play their regular-season finales.

— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.

— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

Numbers watch

— MVP, defensive player of the year and All-NBA hopeful Victor Wembanyama (bruised ribs) is doubtful for San Antonio's game Wednesday against Portland. He still needs one more game (and at least 20 minutes played) to be eligible for those individual awards.

— The Wizards have been outscored by 935 points this season. If they lose their final three games by an average of 21.7 points, they'd become the third team in NBA history to get outscored by 1,000 points. The others? Dallas in 1992-93 ... and the Wizards, last season.

Stats of the day

— Think the game has changed a little? In 2015-16, there were four instances of teams scoring 130 points in a game and losing. In 2025-26, that’s happened 48 times.

— There are 10 teams with 15 or more losses since this season's All-Star break. Oklahoma City has lost 14 games after the All-Star break — in the last three seasons combined.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

04/08/2026 09:16 -0400

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