Two more teams eliminated from postseason contention

Charlotte’s victory at Sacramento on Wednesday night formally eliminated both the Kings and Wizards from postseason contention. Sacramento and Washington are the second and third NBA teams ruled out of postseason contention, joining the Pacers, who were eliminated on Tuesday with a loss to the Kings.

The loss dropped Sacramento to 16-51, the worst record in the Western Conference. The Kings only have 15 games remaining and they’re 15 wins behind the No. 10 Trail Blazers (31-35). Portland has gone 3-0 so far against Sacramento, so no matter what happens when they play again on the final day of the regular season, the Blazers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

A similar scenario played out in the East, as No. 10 Charlotte improved to 34-33, while Washington is currently 16-48 with 18 games remaining. The Hornets went 4-0 against the Wizards in 2025/26, securing the head-to-head tiebreaker over their Atlantic Division rival.

The No. 9 Hawks, who have won a league-best seven straight games, also have 34 wins (against 31 losses). Atlanta holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Washington after going 3-1 vs. the Wizards this season.

In other Kings news, DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 39 points on 17-of-22 shooting in the loss to the Hornets, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. DeRozan passed Spurs great Tim Duncan as the 18th-leading scorer in NBA history.

“I don’t take nothing in this game for granted,” said DeRozan, 36, a six-time All-Star in his 17th NBA season. “I never would have imagined coming into the league I would be playing this long, I would have the opportunities I’ve had, I would accomplish things I have.

“Me just being a fan of the game my whole entire life, it’s an honor to be in a position to accomplish any type of goal in this league. It’s crazy to be in that position and I don’t take none of this for granted. I just love playing basketball at the end of the day, and at the end of the day, you look up and things like this happen. It’s definitely cool.”