Jokic leads the Nuggets to third place in the West and the Raptors seal their return to the NBA playoffs

The Denver Nuggets, driven by Nikola Jokic's 23 points in the first half, beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118, on Sunday for their 12th straight win and clinched third place in the Western Conference on the final day of the NBA regular season.

On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparation for the impending playoffs, Jokic, a three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), had to play at least 15 minutes to be eligible for season-ending awards, including MVP.

Jokic played 18 minutes for MVP, Wemby, out with a rib bruise

The Serbian center played just over 18 minutes, propelling the Nuggets to a 70-56 halftime lead they would not lose to a Spurs team whose own MVP candidate, Victor Wembanyama, sat out with a rib injury.

The Nuggets secured the third seed in the West, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, and will face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

The Los Angeles Lakers were seeded fourth despite a 131-107 victory and will face the Houston Rockets. That series will pit Lakers superstar LeBron James, against longtime rival Kevin Durant, but James might not have the support of the NBA's leading scorer, Luka Doncic, who is struggling to recover from a hamstring strain.

Toronto returns to playoffs for first time in four years

The Toronto Raptors swept the Brooklyn Nets 136-101 to take fifth place in the Eastern Conference, as both the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks lost.

RJ Barrett scored 26 points, Brandon Ingram added 25 and Scottie Barnes had a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Raptors, the 2019 champions, return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

"That was our aspiration for this year," Barnes said. "It's a huge relief." Toronto, which came into the day in sixth place in the East with a chance to not only to move up but also to fall into the play-in tournament, will face the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, in the first round.

The Heat heat up the play-in by beating the Hawks, who finish sixth

The Miami Heat warmed up for the play-in with a 143-117 victory over the Hawks. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 26 points off the bench and Bam Adebayo added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who finished in tenth place in the Eastern Conference and will face the Charlotte Hornets, who secured ninth place with a 110-96 victory over the third-ranked New York Knicks.

The Hawks dropped from fifth to sixth place, but still avoided the play-in, in which the seventh- through 10th-ranked teams will battle for the final two playoff spots in each conference.

Celtics' reserves step up to the plate

Eastern Conference runner-up Boston sat out eight starters, including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But Baylor Scheierman scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Celtics to a 113-108 victory over Orlando, which left the Magic in eighth place in the East and earned them a play-in game as visitors against the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-106.

The Portland Trail Blazers secured the eighth seed in the West with a 122-110 win over the Sacramento Kings and will face seventh-ranked Phoenix in the play-in game.

Pistons cap off a dream season

Detroit, the East's top seed, closed out the regular season with a 133-121 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Detroit's third straight win raised its regular-season total to 60 for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.

The reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, already assured of first place in the West and the league's best record, fell 135-103 to Phoenix in a season-closing game in which both teams fielded their reserves.