The NBA play-in tournament is a second-chance event that makes teams that finish from seventh to 10th place in the standings compete for the final two spots in each conference.
The NBA play-in tournament, a refresher in how it works
The Wolves lost to the Lakers in their play-in game Tuesday, but will get another chance to qualify for the playoffs by facing Oklahoma City on Friday.
April 13, 2023 at 5:00AM
Teams that finish seventh and eighth get two chances to win a qualifying game. The ninth- and 10th-place teams meet, with the winner of that game needing to win for a second time to secure a playoff berth.
The format is in its third season, but still isn't totally clear to many fans.
So here's a look at what is happening this week:
On Tuesday, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 108-102 in overtime to claim the No. 7 seed in the West and will meet No. 2 seed Memphis in the first round for a best-of-seven series. In the East, Atlanta beat Miami 116-105 to earn the No. 7 seed in the East and will face No. 2 Boston in the first round.
On Wednesday, Oklahoma City (No. 10 in the West) stopped New Orleans (No. 9) 123-118 to advance to a game against the Wolves at Target Center at 8:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN). In the East, No. 10 Chicago defeated No. 9 Toronto 109-105 and will play at Miami at 6 p.m. Friday (TNT). Both New Orleans and Toronto were eliminated.
The winners of Friday's games get the No. 8 seed in their conference playoffs and will face No. 1 seeds Denver (West) and Milwaukee (East).
Widely known that Minnesota sports fans are among the most suffering in the nation, this holiday season has the chance to become special, given the recent success of the Vikings, Wolves, Lynx and Wild.
