Rockets get last NBA playoff spot, Heat take No. 3 in East

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.