PORTLAND Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies will slug it out for the eighth and final playoffs seat in the Western Conference division of the 2019-2020 NBA season.
Damian Lillard sizzled with 42 points to go along with 12 rebounds as the Trail Blazers lived to fight another day with a 134-133 escape over Brooklyn Nets.
CJ McCollum carried the 35-39 Trail Blazers at the onset of the match to end up with 25 points, while Jusuf Nurkic had double-double 22 points and 10 rebounds.
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, cruised to a 119-106 domination over Eastern Conference top-seed Milwaukee Bucks to finish with 34-39 record.
Dillon Brooks drained five triples and finished with 31 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists as Ja Morant added 12-13-10 triple-double.
The Trail Blazers will have a twice-to-beat advantage over the Grizzlies for the no. 8 seed in Western Conference in the play-in series beginning Sunday.
Phoenix Suns, which finished with 34-39 slate after its 8-0 record at the Orlando bubble, bowed out of contention even with its 128-102 triumph over Dallas Mavericks.
San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, also fell short from playoffs contention after a 112-118 defeat to Utah Jazz. This was the first time since 1997 that Spurs will not made it past the post-season./PN
