Rockets clinch 8th seed in Western Conference on last day of the season

The Houston Rockets needed all 82 games, but they're heading to the 2016 NBA Playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The team clinched the final spot in the postseason with a 116-81 victory over the Sacramento Kings on the last night of the season.

The Rockets entered the night tied in the standings with the Utah Jazz after going back and forth with them in a close race the past few weeks. Houston had the tiebreaker between the two teams, so a victory puts the Rockets through into the playoffs regardless of Utah's result in Kobe Bryant's swan song. Nothing was left to chance with the win, which improved the Rockets to 41-41.

A tumultuous and disappointing season in Houston still will end in a postseason appearance thanks to James Harden, who scored 38 points in the victory. The Rockets began the year with huge aspirations after a run to the Western Conference Finals last year, but they struggled badly to begin the year. They fired coach Kevin McHale after just 11 games, only to find that his replacement, J.B. Bickerstaff, couldn't do much better at solving the team's issues. Instead of being a championship contender as many thought prior to the season, the team needed the entirety of the regular season just to sneak into the playoffs.

The first round won't be kind to the Rockets, either, with a matchup against the top-seeded Golden State Warriors on deck. Golden State is one win way from completing its record-breaking 73-9 season and seems like a lock to quickly dispatch its opponent in the opening round. The Warriors knocked out the Rockets last season in the Western Conference Finals.