All 30 teams are in action tonight, with 15 postseason seeds still for the taking.
Let the fireworks begin.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
April 11, 2025
Tonight’s Guide: What we learned on Thursday & what’s at stake tonight
Recap: Anthony Edwards powers Wolves past Grizzlies, Pacers secure top four spot in East
Roundup: Pistons earn top six spot, Bucks win sixth straight
NBA TV Doubleheader: Bucks-Pistons Clash, Lakers-Rockets Duel
Massive Slate On LP: All teams are in action as the season nears its end
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Last night’s scores & what to watch today…
READY, SET, GO: All 30 teams are hitting the hardwood on NBA TV and League Pass, and with multiple Playoff seeds still up for grabs, every game matters. Keep reading—we’ve got everything you need to get caught up before tip-off.
1. WHAT WE LEARNED LAST NIGHT & WHAT’S AT STAKE TONIGHT
There are only two game days left in the regular season and we are in for a nail-biting finish in the Playoff standing race.
Here’s what we learned from last night’s five-game slate:
- The Pistons remain in 6th and control their destiny for 5th vs. the Bucks on Friday and Sunday
- The Bucks remain in 5th and clinch the 5 seed with a win tonight
- The Pacers come within a game of the Knicks, as New York’s next win would clinch a spot they’ve held since December 15th
- The Hawks soared to remain in 8th, and control their own destiny to visit the Magic in the 7v8 matchup on Tuesday
- Minnesota earned a big win to keep pace in the West Playoff race, earning a three way tie with (6) Golden State and (7) Memphis at 47-33. Golden State owns the tiebreaker and final Playoff position heading into tonight
Here is what’s at stake in the East tonight:
- Bucks at Pistons (7 ET): With a Bucks win, they’ll clinch the 5th seed. A Pistons win would move Detroit within a game of the Bucks leaving Sunday’s finale for the winner to take 5th
- Magic at Pacers (7 ET): The Pacers can’t finish any lower than the 4-seed with a win or loss. A Knicks loss would keep Indy’s hopes alive for the 3-seed
- Hawks at 76ers (7 ET): Hawks can clinch the 8 seed with a win, while a loss pulls them even with Chicago. They’d remain 8th due to a better conference record over the Bulls
- Cavaliers at Knicks (7:30 ET): Knicks clinch the 3-seed with a win. A loss would keep them in 3rd coupled with an Indy win brings the two teams even, with NY owning the head-to-head tiebreaker
- Wizards at Bulls (8 ET): The Bulls will remain in 9th win or lose. The Bulls only chance of jumping Atlanta for 8th is if the Hawks drop their final two games as well as Chicago winning their final two
- Heat at Pelicans (8 ET): The Heat will remain in 10th with a win or loss. Miami can still finish as high as 8th with the Hawks and Bulls dropping both their final games
Here is a look at how things are shaping up in the West:
- Rockets at Lakers (10:30 ET): The Lakers will remain in 3rd with a win or loss. L.A. will clinch the 3 seed with a win by claiming the Pacific division
- Grizzlies at Nuggets (9 ET): Denver will remain in 4th with a win and could drop as low as 8th with a loss. The Grizzlies can jump as high as 5th with a win and could drop as low as 8th with a loss
- Clippers at Kings (10 ET): The Clippers could jump as high as 4th with a win and a loss could drop them to as low as 6th. The Kings will remain in 9th with a win or loss, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker. They’d clinch the 9-seed with a W or a Dallas L
- Warriors at Blazers (10 ET): The Warriors remain in 6th with a win and could drop as low as 8th with a loss
- Nets at Timberwolves (9 ET): The Wolves could jump as high as 4th with a win and remain in 8th with a loss
- Raptors at Mavericks (8:30 ET): The Mavs will remain 10th with a win or loss. Two wins by them and two losses by Kings gives Dallas the 9-seed
2. ANT EDWARDS POWERS WOLVES PAST GRIZZ, PACERS LOCK IN HOMECOURT
Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
The Grizzlies faced a must-win to finish the night still in the Top 6, but Anthony Edwards and the Wolves had other plans.
Timberwolves 141, Grizzlies 125: Edwards poured in 44 points and hit seven threes and Julius Randle added 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in the win. | Recap
Minnesota pulled away in the third quarter after a 52-point explosion where the team simply could not miss.
- Red Hot: The 52-point third quarter marked the franchise’s highest scoring quarter in the last 25 years
- The Timberwolves shot 18-21 from the field and went 7-8 from three in the quarter
Despite the loss, the Grizzlies had their own standout performances: Ja Morant led the way with 36 points, six assists, and five triples, while Desmond Bane (28/6/9) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (23 points, four threes) contributed.
- The Wolves remain in the No. 8 seed, even with the (6) Warriors and (7) Grizzlies all at 47-33
- The Grizzlies drop from 6th to 7th, with Golden State owning the tiebreaker
Pacers 114, Cavaliers 112: Tyrese Haliburton finished with 23 points, 10 assists and four threes, while Aaron Nesmith added 22-points to help power the Pacers past the Cavs for their sixth straight victory. | Recap
Haliburton came up clutch late, knocking down back-to-back triples to give Indiana a six-point cushion and ultimately lift them to a tight victory over a shorthanded Cavs team.
- Pacers are within a game of the 3rd-seeded Knicks and officially clinches a top-four finish in the East, securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs
The No. 1-seeded Cavs, playing without most of its core — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus — were led by Ty Jerome with 24 points and De’Andre Hunter, who posted 23 points and 11 boards.
3. ROUNDUP: PISTONS DEFEAT KNICKS, BUCKS AND HAWKS EARN WINS
Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images
If the Knicks and Pistons stay where they are in the standings, they’ll meet in the First Round. And Thursday’s potential preview did not disappoint.
Pistons 115, Knicks 106: Cade Cunningham was in full control, dropping 36 points and 8 assists to lead Detroit past New York. | Recap
- The Pistons (44-36 overall) have won the season series 3-1 with three consecutive wins, and tied their best record since the 2007-08 season
- Detroit stayed in the No. 6 seed with two games behind the No. 5 Bucks with two games left to play
With OG Anunoby (thumb) and Josh Hart (knee) out, Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, but it wasn’t enough to slow down a Pistons team playing with Playoff urgency.
- Despite the loss, New York remains in the 3rd seed — just one game ahead of the Pacers — and needs one more win to officially clinch that spot
- New York hosts Cleveland on Friday night and heads to Brooklyn on Sunday, while Detroit plays Milwaukee at home Friday night and on the road Sunday.
Bucks 136, Pelicans 111: Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 28 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in just 25 minutes and Kevin Porter Jr. posted back to back 20+ point, 5+ steal games as Milwaukee rolled to its sixth straight win. | Recap
- The Bucks maintained their two-game edge over the 6th-seeded Pistons and moved one step closer to locking in the No. 5 seed in the East, a victory in their next game would officially seal the 5th spot
Hawks 133, Nets 109: Rookie Zaccharie Risacher dropped a career-high 38 points (15-20 FG) and nailed six threes to help Atlanta breeze past Brooklyn. Trae Young added 24 points and 12 assists for his league leading 50th points-assists double-double of the season. | Recap
- The Hawks remain in the 8th seed, a game up on the (9) Bulls and two games on the (10) Heat
- The Great Barrier Thief: Dyson Daniels reached 226 steals, the most in a single NBA season since Gary Payton (231) in 1995-96
4. NBA TV: BUCKS AND PISTONS CLASH, LAKERS AND ROCKETS DUEL
With just two games left on the calendar, the Bucks (No. 5) and Pistons (No. 6) will meet tonight in the first game of a back-to-back to close the season with Playoff standing implications on the line (7 ET).
Milwaukee has ripped off six straight wins coming in the matchup. While Detroit enters after defeating the No. 3 Knicks on Thursday night.
As the stakes have risen, so has Giannis Antetokounmpo. As the Bucks hit the final stretch of the regular season, he’s delivered in every possible way. With Damian Lillard sidelined due to injury, the two-time MVP has shifted into full takeover mode, embracing the responsibility to be everything everywhere all at once.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
- Team On His Back: Giannis has averaged 31.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 10 games since Lillard went down
- Seeing Triple: Antetokounmpo enters the game with three triple-doubles in his last four games and ranks second in the league with 10 this season — tied with LeBron James and Domantas Sabonis
- Freakish: Antetokounmpo is on pace to tally the second season in NBA history with 30+ points on at least 60% shooting after he became the first player in league history to reach those figures in a season in 2023-24
The breakout season of Cade Cunningham has been one of the most fascinating storylines to watch this season. The former No.1 pick and first-time All-Star has led Detroit to one of the best turnarounds in NBA history.
- Return To Form: The All-Star is averaging 32.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games since returning from a six-game absence
- Coming of Age: Cunningham is on pace to join Oscar Robertson as the only players to average 25/5/9 at 23 or younger in a season
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Rockets vs. Lakers (10:30 ET): Two of the hottest teams in the league within the last month square off in Los Angeles tonight as the No. 2 seed Rockets take on the No. 3 seed Lakers.
The Lakers became the third Western Conference team to clinch a playoff spot after defeating the Mavericks on Wednesday night and with a victory tonight can officially secure the No. 3 playoff seed.
A Good Sign for L.A.: The Lakers have a chance to reach 50 wins for the first time since they won the title during the 2019-20 season
The Rockets have been one of the league’s biggest turnaround stories, showing steady improvement each year since bottoming out with just 17 wins in 2021.
- Under head coach Ime Udoka, they jumped to 41 wins last season and now sit at 52, marking their first 50-win campaign since 2018-19, when they finished 53-29
Houston’s rise has been fueled in large part by the elevated play of Jalen Green. The former No. 2 overall pick is on the brink of closing a breakout season where he took a big leap.
- Green has averaged 22.8 points, 4.8 reb and 4.0 ast since Jan. 1, playing in all 48 games
5. LP SPOTLIGHT: A THRILLING RACE TO THE END OF THE SEASON
The finish line is in sight and the playoff race remains stiff. With just two days left in the regular season, teams continue to jockey for position and home-court advantage.
Grizzlies at Nuggets (9 ET): Denver’s starting lineup took over in interim coach David Adelman’s debut, accounting for over 84% of production in Wednesday’s 124-116 victory.
- High Stakes: These two teams are separated by just 0.5 games, with the Nuggets in 4th and Grizzlies in 6th. The former is 1.0 games shy of the Lakers and holds a tiebreaker over the Clippers for 4th.
Nets at Timberwolves (9 ET): Anthony Edwards will look to follow up after his 44-point performance on Thursday night as Brooklyn visits Minnesota.
- Leaping Wolves? Minnesota can make the biggest jump in the standings tonight, reaching as high as No. 4 with a win, plus wins from MEM and SAC
Clippers at Kings (10 ET): Six consecutive victories have allowed LA to cut through the noise out West, and now it seeks a seventh for the first time since Dec. 2023.
Final Card To Fall: A Kings win tonight or Mavs loss would ensure the No. 9 seed and home-court advantage against the No. 10 seeded-Dallas. Sacramento is already locked into the Play-In tournament.
Warriors at Trail Blazers (10 ET): After winning six of seven, Golden State suffered a last-second loss to the Spurs on Wednesday off of Harrison Barnes’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
- The Cost: That loss dropped the Warriors to 7th, now having sole possession of the top Play-In spot. Still, the Nuggets, Clippers and Grizzlies are each no more than 1.0 games ahead.
Elsewhere, the dust is starting to settle in the Sofi Play-In Tournament race.
Magic at Pacers (7 ET): Orlando and their top scoring defense puts their four game winning streak on the line against the Pacers and their six game winning streak. While the Magic are locked into the 7 seed, Indy needs to win tonight and Sunday, as well as the Knicks to drop their final two games to jump into 3rd.
Hawks at 76ers (7 ET): Dyson Daniels is closing in on a record that’s stood for 30 years, now on pace for the most steals in one campaign since Gary Payton’s 231 in 1995-96. Atlanta is a win away from securing the 8-seed.
Wizards at Bulls (8 ET): Josh Giddey has been on a tear, averaging 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 9+ assists dating back to March, joining Jokić as the only players with such a distinction. Chicago owns the No. 9 seed in the East, and can reach the 8 seed winning their final two games and the Hawks losing both.
Heat at Pelicans (8 ET): Miami needs help to finish better than 10th, but there is a path. Coach Erik Spoelstra’s crew can reach 8th if it wins its final two contests and both Atlanta and Chicago lose their remaining games.
Raptors at Mavericks (8:30 ET): One more loss for Dallas ensures that Sacramento hosts the 9v10 Play-In game. If the Mavericks desire such an advantage, they’ll need to claim their two remaining contests and hope the Kings drop both.
Three of four other games on League Pass feature top-three overall seeds. There’s the Hornets at Celtics (7:30 ET), Cavaliers at Knicks (7:30 ET) and Thunder at Jazz (9:30 ET).
