The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, two elite teams, both faltered in crucial games on Sunday night as the NBA regular season draws to a close, raising the stakes for the playoffs.

Cavaliers Fall Short Against Kings in Cleveland

The Sacramento Kings defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-113 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in a hard-fought home game. Sacramento was able to take advantage of a late surge because the Cavaliers, who had a solid 62-15 record going into the game, were unable to close it out.

With 37 points, including seven baskets from beyond the arc, Zach LaVine led the Kings to a spectacular victory over Cleveland. In the crucial fourth quarter, when Sacramento solidified its hold on the game, three of those occurred. DeMar DeRozan (28 points) and Domantas Sabonis (27 points, 11 rebounds) helped him as the Kings ended the third quarter with a dazzling 24-6 run, reversing the trend and converting a deficit into a 12-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.

Ty Jerome led the Cavaliers' bench with 20 points during a productive performance. After injuring his ankle in the second half, Donovan Mitchell, who scored 19 points, had a scare but came back looking a little limited. Although Jarrett Allen scored 17 points and competed in the paint, Sacramento's late-game play and ball movement were too strong.

With only a few games left, every outcome now matters, and the loss denies Cleveland the chance to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Thunder Overpowered by Lakers in OKC Blowout

The visiting Los Angeles Lakers thrashed the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had the best record in the Western Conference at 64-13 prior to tip-off, 126-99 at Paycom Center.

The Lakers were led by Luka Dončić, who finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. With 15 three-pointers in the first half alone, Los Angeles set a franchise record as they came out fire. By halftime, their offensive assault had put them up 78-56, and they never looked back.

The Thunder, who are usually renowned for their fierce defense and high-efficiency offense, were unable to respond to the Lakers' explosive shooting performance. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was restrained, and OKC found it difficult to create an offensive rhythm or string together stops. Although the defeat doesn't significantly hurt their standings, it casts doubt on their performance going into the postseason.

Oklahoma City still has time to bounce back, but Sunday's thumping is a clear reminder of how deadly the Lakers can be when they're playing at their best.

Although both clubs are still in a solid position to make the playoffs, Sunday's defeats might upset the postseason seeding and give opponents more motivation to find any weaknesses. The urgency only grows as the NBA regular season draws to a close.

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