This year's play-in tournament is well underway with four Western Conference teams competing last night to try and push themselves towards one of the highly sought-after playoff spots.
New Orleans Pelicans 106 Los Angeles Lakers 110
Zion Williamson’s impressive 40-point and 11-rebound performance was not enough to take victory against LeBron James' Lakers side.
In the first quarter, D’Angelo Russell had a flurry of three-pointers which made it difficult for the Pelicans to maintain an early lead.
However, Williamson’s impressive display, including a powerful dunk in the paint, helped his team go eight points in front heading into the second quarter.
Brilliant effort and teamwork from the Lakers meant that the deficit was quickly closed, and they finished with a 60-50 lead going into the break.
In the final two quarters, Williamson once again stepped up his game and tried to build momentum for the home team.
Despite his best efforts, the trio of James, Russell and Anthony Davis was too much for the Pelicans to handle, scoring a combined 64 points.
This result means that the Lakers take the number seven seed where they will face the Denver Nuggets and the Pelicans must compete against the Sacramento Kings for the final play-off spot.
Sacramento Kings 118 Golden State Warriors 94
Keegan Murray flourished in the Kings’ dominant victory over the ageing Warriors by scoring 32 points and collecting nine rebounds.
In the opening quarter, a brilliant defensive effort by the home team held the Warriors to only 22 points, leaving Sacramento nine points clear heading into the second quarter.
Steve Kerr’s side closed the gap in the second corner with Jonathan Kuminga at the forefront of the change in momentum.
Stephen Curry started the third quarter strong with a three-pointer, but the Kings fought back well with an 8-0 run which extended the deficit further.
Sacramento hit their stride in the final twelve minutes scoring 27 points to close out their convincing victory.
Klay Thompson was unable to score a single point throughout the game and solid performances from De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis helped the home team win.
This result means that the Warriors have been eliminated from the tournament and the Kings take on the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth seed in the play-offs.
Upcoming games
Tonight, we will move on to the Eastern Conference where four teams will compete for the final two spots in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat will go head-to-head for the crucial seventh seed to avoid facing the dominant Boston Celtics.
The 76ers enter the game in terrific form with an eight-game winning streak that may carry through to tonight's fixture.
The Heat are also in decent form with seven wins and only three losses in their last ten matches.
Whilst the availability of Joel Embiid is still unknown, Philadelphia seems to be the favourites heading into the game, but players like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo could make this a close matchup.
The Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks will also face each other tonight for the chance to compete for the eighth seed.
Both teams finished the season in underwhelming form with the Bulls losing five of their last ten and the Hawks taking six defeats on the bounce.
Since the NBA All-Star game in February, Chicago have turned their season around and earned the opportunity to reach the playoffs.
However, if Trae Young can pick up the team's form, this could be another closely fought contest.
The in-form DeMar DeRozan will make it difficult for the Hawks to take victory, but this matchup could go either way.