At the conclusion of the regular season, the NBA staged a play-in tournament for teams ranked 7th through 10th in each conference. In the first round, the 7th place team hosted the 8th place team with the winner clinching the 7th seed in the playoffs. The 9th place team hosted the 10th place team with the loser being eliminated from playoff contention. In the second round, the loser from the #7 vs. #8 game then plays the winner of the game between the #9 and #10 teams to determine the playoff's 8th-seed.
Specifically, in the East, #7 Boston defeated #8 Washington to clinch the #7 seed. #9 Indiana defeated #10 Charlotte which allowed them to play Washington for the #8 seed. Washington defeated Indiana to clinch the #8 seed in the East.
In the Wast, #7 Lakers defeated #8 Golden State to clinch the #7 seed. #9 Memphis defeated #10 San Antonio which allowed them to play Golden State for the #8 seed. Memphis defeated Golden State to clinch the #8 seed in the West.
Play-in GameSingle game matchup | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | OT | Series | ||||||||||||||
| 5/18 | at Boston (7) | L | 100-118 | 0-1 | |||||||||||||||
#8 Seed GameSingle game matchup | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | OT | Series | ||||||||||||||
| 5/20 | vs Indiana | W | 142-115 | 1-0 | |||||||||||||||
First RoundBest of 7-game series | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | OT | Series | ||||||||||||||
| 5/23 | at Philadelphia (1) | L | 118-125 | 0-1 | |||||||||||||||
| 5/26 | at Philadelphia (1) | L | 95-120 | 0-2 | |||||||||||||||
| 5/29 | vs Philadelphia (1) | L | 103-132 | 0-3 | |||||||||||||||
| 5/31 | vs Philadelphia (1) | W | 122-114 | 1-3 | |||||||||||||||
| 6/2 | at Philadelphia (1) | L | 112-129 | 1-4 | |||||||||||||||