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NBA Playoff Stage Set: Western Conference Breakdown
It came down to the last day of the NBA regular season to determine the Western Conference playoff stage but after the Golden State Warriors knocked off the Portland Trail Blazers to earn the eighth seed the picture was complete.
With their victory on Wednesday the Warriors will face the number one seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. After starting the season off 0-4 the Mavericks put together one of the most remarkable runs in NBA history. Dallas put together winning streaks of 12, 13, 8, 17 and 9 to compile the best record in the NBA this year. The Mavericks finished the season with a 67-15 record but lost all three of their meetings to the Warriors. It was Golden State that snapped the Mavericks 17-game winning streak in March.
Dallas (36-5 at home) Golden State (12-29 on the road) Series begins Sunday
The Phoenix Suns earned the number two seed in the Western Conference and will host the number seven seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. After dropping their first meeting in L.A. on Oct. 31 the Suns beat the Lakers three straight in the regular season. Phoenix will carry their high powered offense of Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa into the series and look to shut down Kobe Bryant who nearly had to will his Lakers into the playoffs. The Lakers had lost six of seven before winning their final two games to lock up a spot in the post season. Much like the Mavericks, the Suns started off slow with a 1-5 start before putting together winning streaks of 15 and 17 games to win the Pacific Division.
Phoenix (33-8 at home) L.A. (17-24 on the road) Series begins Sunday
San Antonio chased the number two seed late into the regular season but had to settle for the third seed and will now take on the six seed Denver Nuggets in the opening round. The Spurs won the season series with the Nuggets 2-1, the lone Denver victory coming on the last game of the regular season when both squads sat their stars. San Antonio actually dropped their final three games of the year and finished second to the Mavericks in the Southwest standings. The Nuggets seem to be clicking at the right time as they have won 11 of their last 12 to enter the playoffs with momentum.
San Antonio (31-10 at home) Denver (22-19 on the road) Series begins Sunday
It is the Utah Jazz that earned the fourth seed yet they will have to open on the road against the number five seed Houston after the Rockets finished the regular season with a better record. Utah picked up the four seed as the Northwest Division winner while the Rockets finished third in the Southwest. Utah held a 3-1 advantage over the Rockets in the regular season but struggled at the end of the season with an 8-11 record over their final 19 games. The Rockets had won five in a row before dropping their final game of the season to the Jazz with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady sitting out.
Houston (28-13 at home) Utah (20-21 on the road) Series begins Saturday
