NBA's latest rankings: Lakers narrowly beat Rockets to close to No. 3 in the West, and the Heat returned to No. 9 in the East with five consecutive wins

On April 1, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the results of today's eight games were as follows: Jazz lost to Hornets 106-110, Pacers narrowly defeated Kings 111-109, Clippers defeated Magic 96-87, Heat beat Wizards 120-94, Celtics defeated Grizzlies 117-103, Thunder defeated Bulls 145-117, Mavericks lost to Nets 109-113, and Rockets lost to Lakers 98-104. Let's take a look at the latest league rankings –

Compared to yesterday, there is no change in the ranking order of the west. James sent a key hat, and the Lakers defeated the Rockets to continue to close the gap with the Nuggets, and the difference between the two teams was 1 win. While Doncic, James and Reaves combined for just 48 points, the role players made a contribution, with Finney-Smith and Vincent each contributing 20 points and six three-pointers.

The Clippers beat the Magic and have the same record as the Timberwolves, but because the Timberwolves have a 3-0 advantage in the history of the two teams this season, the Timberwolves continue to be in 7th place, and the Clippers are still 8th. Jr. had 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Harden had 20 points, 5 assists and 7 steals, both of whom played nearly 40 minutes in this game. Harden's 7 steals set a new career high for the Clippers and also unlocked the 1,700 steals milestone. Zubac contributed 18 points, 20 rebounds and five assists. The Clippers are 0.5 wins away from the Warriors, who are sixth in the West.

The Mavericks unexpectedly lost to the Nets, who were already out, and broke out an upset, with thick eyebrows scoring 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Gafford coming back to contribute 17 points and 7 rebounds. With the Kings behind them also losing the game, the Mavericks remain in ninth place, still maintaining a 0.5-win advantage.

The Thunder have won 63 games after beating the Bulls, and if they can win all the remaining seven games, the Thunder will have a 70-win season. Alexander had 27 points and 12 assists, Jalen Williams had 23 points, and Isaiah Joe came off the bench to finish with 31 points and eight three-pointers.

The latest rankings of the West are as follows –

1. Thunder 63-12

2. Rockets 49-27

3. Nuggets 47-28

4. Lakers 46-29

5. Grizzlies 44-31

6. Warriors 43-31

7. Timberwolves 43-32

8. Clippers 43-32

9. Mavericks 37-39

10. Kings 36-39

11. Suns 35-40

12. The Trail Blazers are 32-43

13. Spurs 31-43

14. Pelicans 21-54

15. Jazz 16-60

Compared to yesterday, there has been a change in the eastern rankings. After the big win over the Wizards, the Heat moved up to 9th in the East, while the Bulls fell to 10th after losing to the Thunder. The Heat survived the difficult period of losing Butler, and have won five consecutive victories, and the upward momentum is fierce. Bam Adebayo had 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Herro had 27 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Bulls lost to the league's No. 1 Thunder, Giddey scored 15 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists in the face of the old master, and the Bulls' 7-man double-double is still obviously inferior to the opponent.

The No. 2-ranked Celtics are on a nine-game winning streak, but are four wins away from the No. 1 Cavaliers. The fourth-place Pacers also won the game, but they still have a 3.5-game gap between them and the Knicks, so the 1st-4th place in the East will be difficult to change.

The latest rankings of the East are as follows –

1. Cavaliers 60-15

2. Celtics 56-19

3. Knicks 47-27

4. Pacers 44-31

5. The Pistons are 42-33

6 Bucks 40-34

7. Hawks 36-38

8. Magic 36-40

9. Heat 34-41

10. Bulls 33-42

11. Raptors 28-47

12. Nets 25-51

13.76 23-52

14. Hornets 19-56

15. Wizards 16-59

The NBA's official website updates the playoff matchups by daily rankings, and if the playoffs start today, the matchups are as follows-

Western Conference play-in first round: No. 7 Timberwolves vs. No. 8 Clippers, No. 9 Mavericks vs. No. 10 Kings

Western Conference Playoffs First Round: No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 8 seed, No. 2 Rockets vs. No. 7 seed, No. 3 Nuggets vs. No. 6 Warriors, No. 4 Lakers vs. No. 5 Grizzlies

Eastern Conference playoff first round: No. 7 Hawks vs. No. 8 Magic, No. 9 Heat vs. No. 10 Bulls

Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round: No. 1 Cavaliers vs. No. 8 seed, No. 2 Celtics vs. No. 7 seed, No. 3 Knicks vs. No. 6 Bucks, No. 4 Pacers vs. No. 5 Pistons