There were five or six Western Conference teams fighting for several playoff spots in what turned out to be a rather exciting finish to the NBA’s regular season on Wednesday evening.

In one of the earlier games, the Utah Jazz squared off against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. The Jazz, who needed a win and loss by the Los Angeles Lakers to qualify for the eighth seed, were outscored by 14 in the second half en route to an 86-70 loss and playoff elimination.

The win left Memphis in position to capture the fourth seed in the Western Conference if the Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Sacramento Kings. Ultimately, the Clippers ousted the Kings by four, and took home court advantage in their series against the Grizzlies.

With the Lakers now in the playoffs thanks to Utah’s loss, the winner of their game against the Houston Rockets would earn the seventh seed and a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.

Houston led for most of the game until the Lakers took the lead midway through the fourth quarter largely through the efforts of Steve Blake, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard. Down by three on the final possession or regulation, Houston’s Chandler Parsons would drill a low-arching 30-foot shot as time expired to send the game into overtime.

In the end, Howard and the Lakers would clamp down defensively, only allowing five points in the overtime period on their way to a 99-95 victory.

SERIES PREVIEW: (7) LAKERS vs. (2) SPURS

Like the Lakers, the Spurs have had to battle injuries all season.

The Spurs stumbled as they neared the finish line, completing the season with an unimpressive five wins in their final 13 games.

Injuries have slowed the Spurs and forced them to make late-season roster changes. They released an oft-injured Stephen Jackson and picked up long-time NBA veteran Tracy McGrady, who had been reportedly playing well overseas in China.

On the other hand, the Lakers have put together a fantastic string of wins. Despite injuries to Steve Nash, Metta World Peace and Kobe Bryant, they managed to win eight of their final nine games. Los Angeles finished the season on a 28-12 run after opening with a record of 17-25.

There are a variety of factors that will influence the outcome of this series, but player health will likely be the most important. Nash is expected to miss at least the first game, while Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker should ll be ready to play. If Parker is healthy, that gives the Spurs a distinct advantage in the backcourt, even with Steve Blake playing well.

But if the Spurs aren’t as healthy as they seem and the Lakers frontcourt can work together, Los Angeles might be able to stretch the series to a sixth or seventh game.

Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol will have to lead the way both offensively and defensively for Los Angeles if they’re going to make a series out of it.

Ultimately, the Lakers will have to play with consistency and team defense while limiting turnovers. While upsetting the Spurs certainly wouldn’t be shocking, the odds of Los Angeles surviving a seven-game series without Bryant and with a limited Nash aren’t in their favor.

Caveat: The Spurs were just 23-18 on the road, so if the Lakers can steal one of the first two games in San Antonio, this could turn into a rather exciting series.

I’ll be cheering for the Lakers personally (they’re going to be playing the role of the underdog without Kobe in the lineup), but I don’t think they’ll have an answer for Tony Parker.

Prediction: Spurs in 6

SERIES SCHEDULE:

Game 1: @ San Antonio, Sun Apr 21, 3:30 PM ET, (ABC)

Game 2: @ San Antonio, Wed Apr 24, 9:30 PM ET, (TNT)

Game 3: @ Los Angeles, Fri Apr 26, 10:30 PM ET, (ESPN)

Game 4: @ Los Angeles, Sun Apr 28, 7:00 PM ET, (TNT)

Game 5: @ San Antonio, Tues Apr 30, TBA*

Game 6: @ Los Angeles, Thurs May 02, TBA*

Game 7: @ San Antonio, Sat May 04, TBA*

*if necessary