Nuggets Lock Up No. 3 Seed as Resting Lakers Settle for Fourth in Wild West Finale

The Denver Nuggets didn't need their full roster to get the job done on the final day of the NBA regular season. Despite resting four of their five starters, the Nuggets defeated a shorthanded San Antonio Spurs squad 128-118 on Sunday to lock up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The Spurs were playing without franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama and were already locked into the No. 2 seed, making the result largely meaningless for San Antonio's playoff positioning. Denver's patchwork lineup, featuring Nikola Jokic for just 18 minutes to ensure he reached the 65-game threshold for postseason awards eligibility, was enough to secure the victory and the third seed.

The outcome sent the Los Angeles Lakers to the No. 4 seed despite their 131-107 win over the Utah Jazz. The Lakers had a chance to move back into the third spot but needed a Denver loss that never materialized.

The Lakers now face a daunting first-round matchup against the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets, and they'll be doing so without two of their most important players. Luka Doncic is dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and is currently in Europe consulting with a specialist, with no clear timeline for his return. Austin Reaves has a Grade 2 oblique strain that is expected to keep him out for the entire first round. Entering the playoffs without their top two scorers is a massive blow to Los Angeles' championship hopes.

For Denver, the victory sets up a fascinating potential second-round clash with the Spurs and Wembanyama, assuming both teams survive the opening round. The Nuggets will face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that knocked them out of the playoffs two seasons ago.

The full Western Conference playoff bracket is now set. The top seed Oklahoma City Thunder will face the play-in winner, while the Spurs await the seventh-seeded play-in winner. Minnesota and Houston round out the bracket as the six and five seeds respectively.

In the play-in tournament, the Phoenix Suns will host the Portland Trail Blazers in the seven-eight matchup, while the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors face off in the nine-ten game. The Nuggets' decision to rest their starters down the stretch, even after the Thunder sat their own starters in a game that sparked speculation Denver was trying to drop to the four seed to avoid Minnesota, ultimately proved irrelevant as they secured the three seed anyway.