EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The Lakers locked up the top record in the Western Conference last week, setting the stage for a bevy of games that didn’t mean much to them.

It showed on the court with a three-game losing streak that finally ended Monday against Denver, setting up a key question: Who will the Lakers play in the first round of the NBA playoffs?

The short answer: Who knows?

It’s been a wild run for eighth place in the West, with Memphis still holding on despite going 1-5 since the NBA resumed play.

If the Grizzlies (33-38) beat Boston or Milwaukee in their final two games, they clinch a spot in a brief “play-in” series between eighth and ninth place to see who faces the Lakers.

The Grizzlies’ likely opponent in that series is Portland (33-39), a team that has flourished in the restart games and has the talent to give the Lakers a rougher-than-expected time in a first-round series.

Not to be forgotten is Phoenix (32-39), who have gone 6-0 in the restart games but might not make the play-in series because they were so far behind everyone else when the league restarted.

San Antonio (31-38) also has a chance at eighth or ninth despite losing one of its top players, LaMarcus Aldridge, because of shoulder surgery.

Before 22 teams descended upon Orlando to resume the season, the NBA announced this unique play-in series if eighth and ninth place were to become neck-and-neck in the standings.

There won’t be a play-in series in the Eastern Conference because eighth-place Orlando is well ahead of Washington, who will go home Thursday. Orlando has a less-than-desirous date with the dominant Milwaukee in the first round of the East playoffs.

The West standings are jammed, so its eighth-place team will face ninth place on Saturday. If the eighth-place team wins that game, it advances to the playoffs against the Lakers. End of story. The Lakers can begin game-planning for their first playoff opponent since 2013.

If the ninth-place team wins Saturday’s game, a final winner-take-all game will be held Sunday.

As for the Lakers, they have looked a little more like the team that was plowing through opponents when the league suspended play in mid-March.

Anthony Davis had an eminently more productive game Monday against Denver after a rough outing in which he missed 11 of 14 shots against Indiana. He didn’t stray far from the basket against Denver, scoring 27 points on a very efficient night. He took only one three-point attempt and very few long jumpers, preferring instead to do his damage down low as the Lakers won, 124-121.

He’d be happy to look at a box score afterward and see the Lakers made almost half their three-pointers (14 of 29) for their best long-distance shooting night since February 8, a span of 19 games.

They entered the night as the worst three-point shooting team since the league started up again, but LeBron James was a catalyst from afar, making five of 11 against Denver. Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green were solid too, each making three of five from three-point range.

Kuzma had the game-winner with 0.4 seconds left, a well-drawn play out of a timeout in which he lofted a three-pointer from the right side for his 25th and final point of the night.

Green’s effort from deep was also notable, given his recent shooting woes.

The Lakers (52-18) have one more game, Thursday against Sacramento, before playoffs begin. Who they face next week won’t be known for several more days.