Nuggets clinch NBA playoff spot on season’s final day
Apr 13, 2025, 3:47 PM | Updated: 4:30 pm
DENVER — Less than a week after firing their head coach and general manager, the Denver Nuggets clinched an NBA playoff spot on Sunday with an easy 126-111 win over the postseason-bound Houston Rockets.
The Nuggets’ recent four-game skid may have gotten Michael Malone and Calvin Booth fired, but it didn’t push Denver (50-32) into the Play-In Tournament despite some worry. The team could’ve finished anywhere between the fourth and seventh seeds in the West on Sunday, depending on the rest of the teams in this season’s wild finish. Memphis was one of the teams tied with the Nuggets going into Friday, so that win was huge, as there was a pack of teams stuck in the middle of the standings. Basically, by winning their last three games, the Nuggets avoided the Play-In.
The Nuggets are the fourth seed and will host the Los Angeles Clippers in Round 1.
With a new coach in David Adelman, revived energy, and Nikola Jokic, still the best player in the world, the Nuggets are a true wildcard for the Playoffs.
It’s Denver’s seventh-straight trip to the postseason, and they’ll try to win at least a series for a third straight season. Last summer, things ended in a disaster when the Nuggets blew a 20-point lead in Game 7 of Round 2 against the Wolves. Two summers ago was the opposite, when the Nuggets went all the way to win their first title in franchise history.
The first round of the NBA playoffs begins on Saturday, April 19.
The Western Conference #SoFiPlayIn Tournament and No. 1-6 #NBAPlayoffs seedings are SET ⚔️
(8) Grizzlies at (7) Warriors
(10) Mavs at (9) KingsWho will advance? pic.twitter.com/crTrFA5PlR
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 13, 2025
