After Sunday’s logic-defying overtime loss in Dallas, the Rockets (38-40) were officially eliminated from 2024 postseason contention. Houston has now lost five straight after its 11-game winning streak.
While Houston can still tie Golden State in the final Western Conference standings, they do not have the tiebreaker, since they lost all three head-to-head meetings versus the Warriors this season. Golden State currently occupies the No. 10 standings slot in the West, which represents the final play-in tournament berth.
Led by a resurgent Jalen Green, the Rockets came as close in the standings as a half-game (though without the potential tiebreaker) after a March 25 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. At the time, Houston was nine games into its remarkable 11-game winning streak.
However, Golden State went 6-0 in its next six games, including road victories in Miami (43-34) and Orlando (45-32) on a back-to-back; a home win over Dallas (47-30); and a dominant April 4 victory in Houston. The Rockets went 2-4 over the same period, punctuated by that home loss to Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Those corresponding six-game runs are what turned a compelling race into one that is now mathematically over, even with four games still left to play in the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season.
The regular season concludes next Sunday, April 14, with the play-in tournament for both conferences starting on April 16.
DANTE EXUM TIES THE GAME AT 129 AND WE'RE HEADED TO OT IN DALLAS!
HOU-DAL | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/2p0yonJqqi pic.twitter.com/WxVYF5BUDP— NBA (@NBA) April 7, 2024
