Anthony Edwards had 18 of his 43 points in the third quarter to help the Minnesota Timberwolves pull away from the Utah Jazz for a 116-105 victory on Sunday to secure a spot in the playoffs and stay out of the play-in games.
Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 18 rebounds and Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points for the Timberwolves (49-33), who have the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will face the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
Edwards initially faced a suspension for this game for a technical foul on Friday that would've given him an NBA -high 18 this season, but the league rescinded that penalty after a review. Edwards went 7 for 18 from deep to finish with an NBA-leading 320 made 3-pointers.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 22 points for the Jazz (17-65), who finished with the worst record in the NBA and the worst mark in franchise history by six games.
The Timberwolves — who could have slipped all the way to eighth in some scenarios — instead landed in the No. 6 spot at 49-33 following their 116-105 victory over Utah. Edwards stressed to his teammates the urgency to avoid having to play at least one more game.
“Like, we don’t want to play in the play-in, because I’ve been in both situations,” the All-Star guard said. “We want to be fully prepared going into the playoffs. We want that whole week.”
Takeaways
Timberwolves: Their 17-4 record since the start of March is the third-best in the NBA behind Boston and Oklahoma City. Despite some rocky stretches and inexplicable losses, this team is fully healthy and confident entering the postseason.
Key moment
The Timberwolves were trailing when Nickeil Alexander-Walker stole a pass in the backcourt to start a fast break. A drop pass to Gobert for a two-hand dunk gave the Timberwolves a 50-49 lead in the closing seconds of the first half.
Key stat
Edwards beat Detroit's Malik Beasley, his former teammate, by one made 3-pointer. Beasley shot 41.6% and Edwards 39.5% for the season.
Up next
Minnesota's first playoff game will be in Los Angeles on Saturday on ABC.
Rest of the West
The Los Angeles Clippers worked overtime to clinch a playoff spot — and send the Golden State Warriors to the NBA’s play-in tournament.
The final game to end the regular season was a big one for seeding in the Western Conference, with the Clippers beating the Warriors 124-119 in overtime Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed.
The Warriors fell to No. 7 and will host No. 8 Memphis on Tuesday, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed.
Had Golden State won, the Clippers would have fallen to seventh. But James Harden prevented that with 39 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to cap an All-Star season for the former NBA MVP and give the Clippers an eighth straight win and a 50-32 record.
“We’re a good team and we’re excited to show the world, but we’re a good team,” Harden said in a postgame interview with ESPN on the court.
The West bracket wasn’t set until a final day that had numerous teams in the running for numerous positions after the top three of Oklahoma City, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers was already determined.
The Denver Nuggets regrouped after their chaotic final week that included the firing of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth to secure the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round against the Clippers by beating the Rockets 126-111.
The Lakers, Nuggets and Clippers all finished 50-32, with Los Angeles having the tiebreaker to finish No. 3 and start a series in Los Angeles for the first time since 2012.
The Warriors have never won a game in the play-in tournament. They would have finished sixth to set up another marquee matchup between Stephen Curry and LeBron James in the postseason and have just two days to shake off the disappointment.
“We’re right where we want to be,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “We’ve still got an opportunity and we control our own fate. We’re going to be just fine.”
Sacramento is No. 9 and Dallas No. 10 in the West. They will play Wednesday in Sacramento, with the winner having to beat the loser of the Golden State-Memphis game to face the top-seeded Thunder in the first round.
The East was already settled before Sunday
There was no final-day drama in the East, where everything had already been decided.
Cleveland is No. 1 and Boston is No. 2, and they will await the two teams to advance from the play-in. The No. 3 New York Knicks will face the No. 6 Detroit Pistons, and No. 4 Indiana will meet No. 5 Milwaukee.
Orlando is No. 7 and will host eighth-seeded Atlanta on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to face the Celtics. The loser will get another shot against the winner of the game between No. 9 Chicago and No. 10 Miami.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.