On April 14, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-95 to clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs as the NBA played out a play-in tournament to decide who would advance to the 2022-23 NBA playoffs.

The Timberwolves held double-digit leads for much of the second half and led by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter, with all five starters scoring in double figures, led by Karl Anthony-Towns with a team-high 28 points.

They will face the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat clinched a playoff spot as the eighth seed after beating the Chicago Bulls 102-91, led by Jimmy Butler.

The Celtics had lost all three games to the Bulls in the regular season, but came back to win a close game with a late surge, with Butler and Max Strus combining for 31 points on 7-of-12 3-pointers.

The Heat will face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. (c)AFP