Tuesday Update (Aug. 11, 10:35 PM ET)
Lillard’s 61 Puts Blazers in Control of Play-In Race
Behind a brilliant 61-point performance from Damian Lillard – matching his career-high from earlier this season – the Blazers put themselves in the driver’s seat for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference Play-In with a 134-131 win over Dallas on Tuesday night.
With the win, Portland holds a half-game lead over the other three contenders for the Play-In – Memphis sits at No. 9 by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Suns, Phoenix is currently in 10th, and San Antonio is in 11th due to having a slightly lower win percentage than Memphis and Phoenix.
| Team | W-L | Win% | GB |
| 8. Portland | 34-39 | .466 | – |
| 9. Memphis | 33-39 | .458* | 0.5 |
| 10. Phoenix | 33-39 | .458 | 0.5 |
| 11. San Antonio | 32-38 | .457 | 0.5 |
*holds head-to-head tiebreaker
All four teams will be back in action on Thursday to close out their seeding games and determine which two teams will square off in the Western Conference Play-In for a chance to face the Los Angles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. The first game of the Play-In will be on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 2:30 ET on ABC.
Thursday’s Schedule
- Memphis vs. Milwaukee, 4:00 ET, NBA League Pass
- Phoenix vs. Dallas, 4:00 ET, TNT
- San Antonio vs. Utah, 6:30 ET, TNT
- Portland vs. Brooklyn, 9:00 ET, TNT
Here is a complete breakdown of how each team can either claim the No. 8 seed (and the advantage of having to only win one game in the Play-In), or the No. 9 seed (need to win two games in the Play-In), or find themselves out and headed back home as their season comes to an end.
Portland will be seeded:
- #8 if Blazers win OR Grizzlies, Suns and Spurs lose
- #9 if Blazers lose and loss by any two of Grizzlies, Suns or Spurs
- ELIMINATED if Blazers lose and wins by any two of Grizzlies, Suns or Spurs
Memphis will be seeded:
- #8 if Grizzlies win and Blazers lose
- #9 if Grizzlies win and Blazers win OR Grizzlies, Suns and Spurs all lose
- ELIMINATED if Grizzlies lose and wins by either Suns or Spurs
Phoenix will be seeded:
- #8 if Suns win and Blazers and Grizzlies both lose
- #9 if Suns win and Blazers or Grizzlies lose
- ELIMINATED if Suns lose
San Antonio will be seeded:
- #8 if Spurs win and Blazers, Grizzlies and Suns all lose
- #9 if Spurs win and loss by any two of Blazers, Grizzlies and Suns
- ELIMINATED if Spurs lose
