POSTED: Apr 13, 2016 11:14 PM ET
(AP) — The Houston Rockets will get another shot at Golden State, while the Miami Heat took the hard way to a No. 3 seed.
The Rockets earned the final NBA playoff spot Wednesday night with a 116-81 victory over Sacramento, giving them the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and officially making Kobe Bryant's final game nothing more than a ceremony.
Utah would have finished eighth with a Rockets loss and a victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles, but the Rockets won their third in a row to finish 41-41 and earn a first-round matchup against the NBA champions, a year after losing to the Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
The Heat blew a big lead in Boston with a five-point third quarter and lost 98-88, but finished third in the East anyway when Atlanta fell to Washington. The Hawks are the No. 4 seed and will face the No. 5 Celtics, while Charlotte is seeded sixth and opens at Miami.
The other two East series were already determined headed into the last night of the season: Top-seeded Cleveland will face Detroit, while No. 2 Toronto will face seventh-seeded Indiana.
Most of the lower half of the West bracket was to be determined after Wednesday's games.
The playoffs open Saturday. Schedules were to be released by the NBA later Wednesday.
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