Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant will not play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, per the team's afternoon injury report. This will be Durant's fifth straight missed game after spraining his left ankle against the Houston Rockets on March 30.

Just 24 hours removed from a high-intensity win over the Lakers, OKC gave most of its top rotational players rest. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Cason Wallace were listed as out with various injuries.

The Los Angeles Lakers took care of the Dallas Mavericks, 112-97, April 9, in Luka Doncic's return to keep Phoenix in the play-in chase. Doncic scored 45 points in his first game in Dallas since the blockbuster deal before the 2024-25 trade involving Anthony Davis sent him to the Lakers.

The New York Knicks (50-29) will try to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference when they face the Detroit Pistons (43-36) on Thursday night. New York had its two-game winning streak snapped in an overtime loss to Boston on Tuesday,

Since the All-Star break, the Suns have the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA (122.2), behind only the Raptors (122.9), who are actively trying to lose games and sitting their star player, Brandon Ingram, and others in an attempt to improve draft odds.

While the Lakers punched their ticket to the postseason on Wednesday, another team saw its postseason hopes come to an end. The Phoenix Suns were eliminated after their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here's a look at the NBA standings following the Lakers' playoff clinch and Suns' elimination.

But, for just these next few moments, let's try to appreciate the NBA regular season. After all, excellence over the course of an 82-game grind is nothing to scoff at, even if the playoffs don't go as you would have hoped.

The Suns have faltered under pressure, losing seven straight games — all by double digits — and failing to capitalize on what seemed like a golden chance to secure a postseason spot.