PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — 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 to clinch the No. 8 seed and a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
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.
Donovan Clingan had 13 points and
11 rebounds, and Scoot Henderson had 15 points for Portland.
Precious Achiuwa had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Nique Clifford had 24 points and Maxime Raynaud had 21 points as the Kings tied the Utah Jazz for last place in the West at 22-60.
After the teams ended the first quarter tied at 33, Portland pushed its lead in the second quarter, capped off by Matisse Thybulle’s 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, which gave the Blazers a 77-57 lead.
The Kings went on a 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.
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.
Trail Blazers: Visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
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