NBA playoff tracker: James Harden returns for the Nets
Yahoo Sports will keep you updated nightly on the NBA playoff race during the last two weeks of the regular season. Check back daily for the latest movement in the standings, what to watch for and teams securing their 2020-21 playoff berths.
Wednesday's standings
Eastern Conference
1. Philadelphia 76ers (47-22)
2. Brooklyn Nets (46-24, 1.5 GB)
3. Milwaukee Bucks (44-25, 3 GB)
4. Atlanta Hawks (39-31, 8.5 GB)
5. Miami Heat (38-31, 9 GB)
6. New York Knicks (38-31, 9 GB)
Play-in tournament
7. Boston Celtics (35-35, 12.5 GB)
8. Charlotte Hornets (33-36, 14 GB)
9. Indiana Pacers (33-36, 14 GB)
10. Washington Wizards (32-38, 15.5 GB)
On the playoff bubble
11. Chicago Bulls (29-40, 18 GB)
Western Conference
1. Utah Jazz (50-20)
2. Phoenix Suns (48-21, 1.5 GB)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (46-23, 3.5 GB)
4. Denver Nuggets (45-24, 4.5 GB)
5. Portland Trail Blazers (41-29, 9 GB)
6. Dallas Mavericks (41-29, 9 GB)
Play-in tournament
7. Los Angeles Lakers (40-30, 10 GB)
8. Golden State Warriors (37-33, 13 GB)
9. Memphis Grizzlies (36-33, 13.5 GB)
10. San Antonio Spurs (33-36, 16.5 GB)
On the playoff bubble
11. Sacramento Kings (31-38, 18.5 GB)
Game of the night: James Harden returns in Nets win over Spurs
He's baaaaack.
James Harden had 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds off the bench in 26 minutes ... but Brooklyn's trio didn't share the court together. Kyrie Irving suffered a facial contusion on Tuesday night and didn't play Wednesday against San Antonio.
James Harden goes for 18 PTS, 7 REB, 11 AST in his return to action, pacing the @BrooklynNets win vs. SAS! #BrooklynTogether pic.twitter.com/30d3gUrXFX
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2021
While it didn't matter as the Nets won 128-116, Harden, Irving and Kevin Durant have still only played seven games together with the playoffs quickly approaching. Harden — who came off the bench for the first time since 2012 — missed 18 games with a hamstring injury.
Performance of the night: Luka Doncic
Less than 24 hours after a 133-104 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies where he scored a season-low 12 points, Dallas' Luka Doncic bounced back on Wednesday against New Orleans with 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. "That game was obviously one of the worst I ever played," Doncic admitted after Tuesday's loss.
Luka Doncic: "That game was obviously one of the worst I ever played."
On how his back feels after falling hard over the ad onto concrete: "Now it's worse when you get cold, so we'll see how it is tomorrow."— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) May 12, 2021
Wednesday's statline and the 125-107 win was more in line with what the Mavericks are expecting down the stretch as the battle for playoff seeding in the West continues to be a jumbled mess with four days left in the regular season. If Dallas wants to avoid dropping into the seventh seed and the play-in tournament, Doncic will need more performances that are closer to his season average (27.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.6 assists).
What to watch Thursday
Portland vs. Phoenix (10:00 p.m. ET)
Phoenix's window of catching Utah for the top seed in the West is quickly closing. Both the Suns and Jazz have lost two straight as Phoenix trails by 1.5 games with three games left. Portland is riding a five-game win streak and now sits in the fifth seed, holding the tiebreaker over Dallas. The Trail Blazers travel to Phoenix after defeating Utah on the road Wednesday night, 105-98.
One last thing
James Harden is back and he's not surprised at how well he played:
James Harden wasn't surprised how quickly he was able to get back into the flow of things for the Nets:
"Not to brag or anything, but I'm really good at this game" pic.twitter.com/jVpDkh6X1g— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) May 13, 2021
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