Last chance time: Hawks-Heat, Grizzlies-Mavericks to decide final NBA playoff spots on Friday

Klay Thompson has played in 33 NBA Finals games. Been to the playoffs nine times. Has four championship rings in his collection. He knows how the big stage feels.

Don't tell him the play-in tournament doesn't matter.

The play-in tournament ends Friday night with a pair of elimination games, win-or-go-home matchups that will have a Game 7 feel to them. In the Eastern Conference, it's Miami going to Atlanta. And in the Western Conference, Thompson and Dallas visit Memphis. The winners go to the playoffs. The losers are finished.

“I know it’s not the NBA Finals or conference finals," Thompson, in his first season with the Mavericks, said after Dallas extended its season Wednesday with a win at Sacramento that eliminated the Kings. “But shoot, we’re still alive and a lot of teams aren’t.”

That's true. Right now, 14 teams are in the playoffs, 12 teams are done for the season and four are left to decide the last two playoff spots.

“I always say it’s like March Madness,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “Win or go home.”

For Atlanta and Memphis, these games are a second chance after both lost games where playoff berths could have been clinched on Tuesday. For Miami and Dallas, these games are a last chance to salvage a season and make a little bit of NBA history in the process.

No play-in team has ever won two road games in the same tournament, and this format — now in its fifth year, not counting a one-game play-in that was needed inside the bubble in 2020 — has never seen teams that entered as the 10th seed get into the actual playoffs.

Miami and Dallas can change that on Friday.

“We're only halfway there,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The Heat and Mavericks will be trying to stave off elimination for the second time in three days, after both got road wins Wednesday to keep hope alive; Miami ousted Chicago, Dallas ousted Sacramento. The Hawks and Grizzlies — both of whom finished eighth in the standings, which doesn't guarantee a playoff berth anymore — wasted chances to make the playoffs on Tuesday; Atlanta lost at Orlando, Memphis lost at Golden State.

“We put ourselves in a position to have two games to get into the playoffs," Hawks guard Trae Young said after his team lost to Orlando in a game that decided the No. 7 seed in the East. “Us being in the 8 seed, if this was the old school we'd already be in the playoffs. I'm glad they give us an opportunity to go home and get another chance. ... That's pretty much it. We've got another chance.”

It'll be a quick turnaround for Friday's winners. The Atlanta-Miami winner opens the playoffs at East No. 1 Cleveland on Sunday night, while the Memphis-Dallas winner opens the playoffs at West No. 1 and top overall seed Oklahoma City on Sunday afternoon.

They won't be complaining.

“You're looking at the bigger goal, the bigger picture, which is the playoffs,” Heat forward Andrew Wiggins said. “We've got to do whatever we can. Whatever we've got to do, we've got to do in that game.”

Season series: Tied, 2-2.

BetMGM Sportsbook: Hawks by 1.5.

At stake: The winner is the No. 8 seed and opens the playoffs Sunday at No. 1 Cleveland. The loser is eliminated.

Outlook: Heat could get into the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, which would tie a club record (it has happened on two previous occasions). Hawks went 2-0 against Miami at home this season, and all four games between the teams were decided by at least 10 points. The winner will become the first East team to go to the playoffs with a losing record (in a full 82-game season) since Boston did it with a 40-42 mark in 2014-15. Atlanta won the previous play-in tournament meeting between the clubs, topping Miami 116-105 in 2023 to earn the No. 7 seed. The Heat won the elimination game that year to claim the No. 8 seed — and start a run to that season's NBA Finals.

Season series: Grizzlies, 3-1.

BetMGM Sportsbook: Grizzlies by 6.5.

At stake: The winner is the No. 8 seed and opens the playoffs Sunday at No. 1 Oklahoma City. The loser is eliminated.

Outlook: Maybe it's fitting that these two teams play the last game going into the playoffs. The Mavericks traded their franchise player in Luka Doncic in February, the Grizzlies fired their all-time winningest coach in Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the regular season. Even after Doncic got traded, Kyrie Irving got hurt and the franchise encountered — to put it mildly — some negativity, the Mavericks need to win just one game to get back to the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are trying to ensure that a 48-win season doesn't go for naught in what would be a stunning collapse. Of the other 549 teams to go 48-34 (or better) in an NBA season, 545 of them made the playoffs.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, right, reacts from the bench during the second half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro celebrates with fans after the Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls in an NBA play-in tournament basketball game in Chicago, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson gestures to the crowd during the second half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — The world’s largest live music event has reached its glitter-drenched conclusion with the grand final on Saturday of the Eurovision Song Contest, a celebration of music and unity ruffled by discord over Israel’s participation.

A trio singing for Sweden about the joys of saunas and a classically trained Austrian countertenor are among those tipped to take the microphone-shaped Eurovision trophy at the contest in Basel, Switzerland.

But at the ever-unpredictable event, the prize could just as easily go to powerful singers from France, the Netherlands or Finland — or even an Estonian who sings about Italian coffee. The final kicks off at 9 p.m. local time.

Bookmakers say the favorite is KAJ, representing Sweden with their ode to sauna culture “Bara Bada Bastu,” followed by Austrian singer JJ’s pop-opera song “Wasted Love.”

French chanteuse Louane has risen up the odds with “maman,” as has Dutch singer Claude with soulful ballad “C’est La Vie” and Finland’s Erika Vikman with the innuendo-laden “Ich Komme.” Estonia’s Tommy Cash is also a contender with his highly caffeinated dance-pop song “Espresso Macchiato.”

Israel’s Yuval Raphael has won many fans with her anthemic “New Day Will Rise,” but also faced protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Acts from 26 countries — trimmed from 37 entrants through two elimination semifinals — will perform to some 160 million viewers for the continent’s pop crown. No smoke machine, jet of flame or dizzying light display has been spared by musicians who are given 3 minutes to make their mark.

Dean Vuletic, an expert on the history of Eurovision, said the competition has become more diverse over the years, both musically and linguistically. There are songs in 20 languages this year, including Ukrainian, Icelandic, Albanian, Latvian and Maltese.

“In the past it was about having a catchy, innocuous pop song, usually in English,” he said. But in the past decade “we’ve seen songs become much more socially and politically engaged, songs that present the audience with some sort of meaning."

“In recent years the formulaic approach to a Eurovision entry hasn’t succeeded," he added. "An entry needs to be memorable and it needs to be authentic in order to succeed these days.”

This year’s contest has been roiled for a second year by disputes over Israel’s participation. Dozens of former participants, including last year’s winner Nemo of Switzerland, have called for Israel to be excluded.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests have both taken place in Basel, though on a much smaller scale than at last year’s event in Sweden, where tensions spilled over backstage and Dutch competitor Joost Klein was expelled over an alleged altercation with a crew member.

The European Broadcasting Union or EBU, which runs Eurovision, subsequently tightened the contest’s code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.

Performers say the backstage vibe this year is more relaxed.

After a controversial ban in 2024 on flags, apart from national ones, being waved in the arena, this year audience members can bring Palestinian flags or any others, as long as they are legal under Swiss law. Performers, though, can only wave their own country’s flag.

Axel Åhman, one third of favorites KAJ, acknowledged that it’s tough to keep Eurovision an unpolitical event.

“The world always seeps in in some sense,” he told the AP. “But we’re here to represent Sweden and we have prepared for this for all our lives and want to make the best of our moment as artists in this huge and legendary competition.

"So our main focus is there, and the politics (we) try to leave that to the EBU and those actually making the decisions.”

Associated Press journalists Hilary Fox and Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.

Gabry Ponte from San Marino performs the song "Tutta L'Italia" during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Friday, May 16 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

PARG from Armenia performs the song "SURVIVOR" during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Friday, May 16 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Claude from the Netherlands performs the song "C'est La Vie" during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Friday, May 16 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Justyna Steczkowska from Poland performs the song "GAJA" during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Friday, May 16 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

KAJ from Sweden performs the song "Bara Bada Bastu" during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Friday, May 16 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)