Deni Avdija had 25 points and 10 assists, Jrue Holiday scored 23 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 122-110 on Sunday night in Portland, Ore., to clinch the No. 8 seed and a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. The result locked Portland into the league’s postseason machinery while Sacramento was left tied with the Utah Jazz for last place in the West at 22-60.
Who Gets the Bracket, Who Gets Left Behind
Portland will head to Phoenix to play the seventh-seeded Suns on Tuesday night, with the winner advancing to a first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs. That is the structure on offer: a ladder of seeded teams, a play-in gate, and another round of elimination games before anything resembling a real series begins. The Blazers’ win did not just add another mark in the standings; it secured their place in that hierarchy.
For Portland, Donovan Clingan had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Scoot Henderson had 15 points. Precious Achiuwa had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Nique Clifford had 24 points and Maxime Raynaud had 21 points as the Kings absorbed the loss and remained at the bottom of the West. The numbers tell the story of who moves forward and who gets stuck in the league’s lower tier.
How the Game Tilted
After the teams ended the first quarter tied at 33, Portland pushed its lead in the second quarter, capped by Matisse Thybulle’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, which gave the Blazers a 77-57 lead. That 20-point cushion was the kind of separation that turns a contest into a managed climb for the team already holding the upper hand.
The Kings did not fold quietly. They went on an 8-0 run to open the second half to make it 77-65, forcing a Blazers timeout with 9:55 left in the third quarter. The Kings continued to make Portland sweat as a dunk by Raynaud made it 81-74, forcing another Blazers timeout with 6:43 left in the third. A putback by Robert Williams III out of the timeout made it 83-74. Avdija’s fourth 3-pointer of the game made it 86-74 with 6:03 left in the third. A three-point play by Henderson pushed the Portland lead to 94-81 with 2:40 left in the third. The Blazers maintained a 96-84 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Bottom of the West
Free throws by Raynaud cut the Portland lead to 110-101 with 6:29 left, but that was as close as the Kings would get. The late push was not enough to break Portland’s control of the game, and the final score settled at 122-110.
The article was by Erik García Gundersen. The facts on the floor were simple enough: Portland secured the No. 8 seed and a play-in spot, while Sacramento stayed tied for last place in the West at 22-60. In a league built on ranking, sorting, and elimination, the winners move on and the rest are left to absorb the damage.