The San Antonio Spurs have clinched a spot in the play-in tournament for the NBA playoffs.
The Spurs needed a win Tuesday night against Denver, and a Laker loss. Both happened. The Spurs defeated the Nuggets 116-97 and the Lakers lost to the Suns 121-110.
The play-in tournament will be held April 12-15 with the NBA playoffs beginning on April 16.
The NBA introduced the new play-in format during the unusual 2019-2020 season that was held “in the bubble” in Orlando, Florida to protect its players at the start of the pandemic.
After Tuesday night’s game, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said the team is still focused on its next game on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"We are just playing every game,” Popovich said. “Little trite thing — we have a game on Thursday. We are going to play that and not worry about anything else. It's not like we are world-beaters.”
The Spurs record now stands at 34-45. It is yet to be determined if they will enter the play-in tournament as the number 9 or number 10 seed.
They have now won three games in a row and seven of their last eight games, heating up just as the city of San Antonio celebrates Fiesta – something reminiscent of the perennial deep playoff runs of the Tim Duncan era.
