NBA Standings 2019: Warriors Will Get No.1 Seed, Rockets Could Catch Nuggets For No.2 Seed In West

Any thoughts that the Golden State Warriors (53-24) might not have home-court advantage in every series before the 2019 NBA Finals went away Tuesday night when the defending champs took care of the Denver Nuggets (51-26). The 116-102 victory at Oracle Arena gave Golden State a two-game lead atop the Western Conference with just five games left on the regular-season schedule, all but guaranteeing them the No.1 seed.

Denver has been contending with Golden State all season long, but the Warriors seem to always pick up a big win when they need it. Tuesday's contest was just another example as they routed the Nuggets behind Kevin Durant's 21 points in 21 minutes. DeMarcus Cousins added 28 points.

Golden State defeated Denver 3-1 in the season series.

The Nuggets might have to be more concerned about staving off the Houston Rockets (50-28) than catching the Warriors. Last year's No.1 seed is only 1.5 games behind Denver for this season's No. 2 seed.

James Harden scored 36 points Tuesday, reaching his season’s average in Houston's 130-105 win over the Sacramento Kings (38-40). While a lot has been made about Denver and even the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-33) this year, it's becoming apparent that the Rockets are, once again, the biggest threat to the Warriors in the West.

Houston led the NBA with 65 wins in 2018 and took Golden State to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

If seeding holds in the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets and Nuggets will meet in the second round. The Portland Trail Blazers (49-28) are only a half-game behind Houston, but injuries to CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic could make it difficult for them to catch Houston.

The Utah Jazz (47-30) and Los Angeles Clippers (47-31) seem to be in a fight for the No.5 and No.6 seed. The No.7 seed and No.8 seed will likely come down to the San Antonio Spurs (45-33) and Thunder.