Thunder grab top seed in West; LeBron's Lakers one win from NBA playoffs

LOS ANGELES – The unexpected Oklahoma City Thunder clinched the Western Conference top seed ahead of the defending champion Denver Nuggets as the NBA regular season wrapped up on Sunday (Monday Manila time).

The youthful Thunder rolled past the playoff-bound Dallas Mavericks — who rested Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving among others — 135-86 to emerge from the trio of teams who went into the final day of action tied atop the West.

It marked the first time that three teams entered their final games with identical records, all with a shot at the No. 1 seed in a conference.

Thanks to the Thunder's edge in their head-to-head record, the Nuggets' 126-111 victory over the Grizzlies in Memphis wasn't enough and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who also had a chance, fell 125-106 to the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns snatched the sixth and final automatic playoff berth and will face the No. 3 Timberwolves again in the first round.

In New Orleans, superstar LeBron James scored 28 points with 11 rebounds and 17 assists in his 112th career triple-double to propel the Los Angeles Lakers to a 124-108 victory over the Pelicans and eighth place in the West.

The defeat dropped the Pelicans out of sixth place, and they'll host the Lakers in the play-in tournament on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the seventh seed.

James added five steals and Anthony Davis had 30 points and 11 rebounds against his former team. Davis gave Lakers fans a scare when he hobbled out in pain late in the fourth quarter.

Davis said his back "locked up" after he took a shove, but vowed there was "no doubt" he'd play on Tuesday.

James said the quick turnaround to another game against the Pelicans was reminiscent of a playoff series.

"That's exactly what it feels like," he said. "So you don't get too high on one win because you've got to come back and play again."

The Golden State Warriors, with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green resting, beat the Utah Jazz, 123-116, to lock up the last play-in berth.

They'll play Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings, who cruised past Detroit 123-95, with the winner of that play-in game earning a shot at the loser of the Lakers-Pelicans contest for the final Western