This is it.
The 2024-25 NBA regular season is down to its final stretch. With teams having just two or three games left to play, the opportunities to gain ground in the standings are few.
Most of the excitement is in the middle of the Western Conference, where the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers are just 1 game up on the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, 1½ games up on the Memphis Grizzlies and 2 games up on the Golden State Warriors.
Some of these teams will still play each other, all of which means, there could be plenty of movement in these final games of the season.
Here are the winners and losers of the 25th and final week of the 2024-25 NBA regular season.
WINNERS
Luka gets last laugh … for now
In his return to Dallas, facing the Mavericks for the first time in the American Airlines Center, Luka Dončić went off for 45 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on 16-of-28 shooting (57.1%), including a torrid 7-of-10 from 3-point range. The Lakers (49-31) won, clinching a playoff spot. Objectively, by just about every measure, Dončić has had a better time in his new home; the Lakers have gone 18-12 in games Dončić has played in and have shot up the standings, while the Mavericks are battling for a play-in spot.
Yet, the effects of this trade will ripple for years to come. And Dončić – unfairly or not – will be judged by championships. With LeBron James, 40, still impacting games in his 22nd season, Dončić’s window to win may never be as solid as it is now.
Pacers find balance, stay hot
Arguably no team has been better since the calendar turned to 2025 than the Indiana Pacers (48-31), which is 38-16 (.704) since Jan. 2. To get there, the Pacers have slightly tweaked their formula from last season, slowing down their offensive tempo just a touch and investing more in team defense.
They haven’t been massive changes. Last year, the Pacers were a blur, ranked second in offensive pace. This year, Indiana is eighth, though it’s by a difference of 1.49 possessions per 48 minutes. The anchor has been point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who leads the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.62). Haliburton is committing just 1.6 turnovers per game, tying his career low.
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (quietly) rounding into peak form
The Clippers (48-32) are just 1 game back of the in-town rival Lakers for the No. 3 seed in the West. The Clippers have has won six consecutive games, having topped the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets Wednesday night. The Clippers are now 30-11 at home this season. They have won 16 of their last 19.
While he has benefitted from the occasional spot rest, Kawhi Leonard has been available for Los Angeles since returning early January from right knee inflammation. He has been methodical, deliberate, consistent and efficient. And, alongside James Harden and Norman Powell, the Clippers own the NBA’s best offensive rating (124.1), second-best defensive rating (107.0) and top net rating (17.1) over the last 15 games.
LOSERS
Turmoil, transition could spoil Nuggets’ title hopes
There were tensions in Denver’s executive leadership, with former coach Michael Malone and former general manager Calvin Booth each grating over roster construction. Rather than firing one person in the power struggle, the Nuggets fired both, despite there being only three games left in the regular season.
The Nuggets (48-32) did snap a four-game losing streak Wednesday night against the Kings, but Jamal Murray (hamstring) remains sidelined after missing his sixth game. It has become apparent Denver needs Murray to be healthy to have a legitimate shot at a title. And while the body language of Denver’s players had deteriorated recently, and while Nikola Jokić did not object to Malone’s firing, the rupture of firing a coach so close to the postseason could alter team chemistry. Interim David Adelman does represent a bridge to continuity, but in a Western Conference loaded with contenders, a transition could put Denver at a disadvantage.
Heat miss chance to gain edge ahead of play-in
Wednesday night’s game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls came with both teams holding the same record, though Chicago did have the tiebreaker for already winning two of the three games it would play against Miami this season. And, with both teams having a pair of games left against opponents who have failed to reach 25 victories, this presented the best chance for the Heat (who entered Wednesday as the 10-seed) to leapfrog the Bulls (No. 9) in the standings.
Miami was outscored in the second quarter by 11 and could never close the gap, which means the Heat will almost certainly have to go on the road to face the Bulls – a team it has already lost to three times this season – in the Play-In Tournament.
Desperate Suns eliminated, transition feels inevitable
There’s never a good time to lose eight games in a row; the worst, unquestionably, is when you’re trying to claw into the Play-In Tournament, and you’re on the outside looking in. That’s exactly where the Phoenix Suns (35-45) is right now, officially eliminated after losing Wednesday night to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Suns had the misfortune of Kevin Durant sustaining a sprained ankle that has forced him out of the most recent five games. Durant’s future with the franchise may be winding down, as Phoenix clearly needs to shed salary to create depth – something the team sorely lacked this season. As for coach Mike Budenholzer: given Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s high expectations, Budenholzer could find himself on the hot seat.
