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Matt York/Associated Press
It had been more than a decade since the Phoenix Suns last went to the NBA playoffs. But that drought is now over.
On Wednesday night, Phoenix clinched its first playoff berth since 2010, becoming the fourth team in the NBA to secure a spot in the postseason this year. The Utah Jazz are the only other Western Conference team to have done so, while the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have clinched in the Eastern Conference.
Unlike past years, only the top six teams from each conference are guaranteed of playing in the first round of the playoffs. The teams that finish in the Nos. 7-10 spots in both the East and West will then participate in a play-in tournament to see who moves on.
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UNM Lobos coach Paul Weir sports the special Suits and Sneakers t-shirt that is part of the NABC’s Coaches vs. Cancer week as his team took on the Fresno State Bulldogs Thursday night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. (Courtesy Samuel Marshall Photography)
Here are some extra notes, quotes, stats and whatever else I could empty out of the old notebook after Thursday’s 64-62 Lobos loss in overtime to the Fresno State Bulldogs in California:
The defense did its part
The Lobos defense on Thursday, really for the third time in the past four games, absolutely gave the team a chance to win.