Jazz keep tight hold on West top spot; Sixers clinch No. 1 in East

Jordan Clarkson #00 of the Utah Jazz shoots against Aleksej Pokusevski #17 of the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 14, 2021 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
WESLEY HITT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The Utah Jazz kept a tight hold on the top spot in the Western Conference standings following a wire-to-wire 109-93 victory over the OKC Thunder on the road on Friday (Saturday, Manila time).

Led by Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson, Utah arrested a two-game slide with the convincing win over the also-ran Thunder.

Bogdanovic continues to carry the offense with a 22-point performance while Clarkson chipped in with a bench-high 18 markers.

Big man Rudy Gobert posted a double-double of 16 points and 18 boards in the team's 51st win.

The win puts them a game and a half ahead of the second-seeded Phoenix Suns with just a single game left in their season.

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers finally clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference following a 122-97 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Seth Curry posted 20 points in the win to lead five Sixers who finished in double-digit scoring.

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons had 13 markers each to finally take the top spot after snapping a two-game losing slump.

In the other games, the Denver Nuggets remain within striking distance of the third spot in the West after beating the Detroit Pistons, 104-91.

MVP front runner Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double of 20 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in a game that saw them get within half a game of the LA Clippers.

As of press time, the Clippers are trailing in their game against the also-ran Houston Rockets, 84-97.

Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards clinched a play-in tournament berth after winning over the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-105.

Building on his historic season, Russell Westbrook continued to rain triple-doubles with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists in the win.

Show comments