Blazers survive Grizzlies, earn playoff date with Lakers after a play-in thriller

All three games were high-scoring shootouts decided by three points or fewer, and Brooklyn’s Caris LeVert missed a potential game-winner that would have sent Portland home.

The Blazers’ great escapes landed them in a weekend play-in round with the Memphis Grizzlies, where they again fought to the final minute to claim a 126-122 win. Portland enters the playoffs with a 7-2 record in the bubble, fighting off the Grizzlies, Suns, Spurs, Kings and Pelicans in a tight race for the last spot.

“We just played a nine-game playoff series,” Blazers Coach Terry Stotts said. “It went the full nine.”

A superior regular season record granted the Blazers a major advantage in the play-in round: Per the bubble rules, Portland (35-39) needed to beat Memphis (34-39) just once to advance, while Memphis needed to beat Portland twice. Still, nothing came easily for the Blazers, who jumped to a 30-14 first-quarter lead but trailed by eight early in a tense fourth quarter that included both teams loudly disputing foul calls with the officials.

Lillard rose to the occasion again, flying past Jonas Valanciunas for a poster dunk in the third quarter and hitting five three-pointers to lead the Blazers with 31 points. But this was a balanced team effort rather than Lillard’s typical one-man show at Disney World.

“Sometimes [leadership] is letting somebody say something to you, or taking a step back and letting somebody else be around front,” Lillard said. “This entire time, I had trust in these guys. If I see a crowd, I’m not going to hesitate to make that [pass]. Throughout the last month, they’ve proven they’ll make big shots. They’ve given me every reason to have confidence. That’s part of why we’ve been able to pull out a lot of these close games.”

CJ McCollum, limited by a back injury at times in the bubble, scored 29 points and hit a pair of clutch jumpers. Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and delivered the dagger, draining a three-pointer with 20 seconds left.

Center Jusuf Nurkic, who announced earlier Saturday that his grandmother had died after a lengthy battle with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds. He converted a key and-one to give the Blazers the lead for good.

“I didn’t want to play,” Nurkic said, his eyes red during a postgame interview. “She made me play, I guess. Personally, I thought I wasn’t going to play tonight. I didn’t want to shoot any balls during warm-ups. I already came and made the decision to stay here to be with the team. I think she wanted me to play. I’m glad we won and are in the playoffs. That’s what we came for.”

The Bosnian center added that he wasn’t certain whether he would remain in Florida for the playoffs.

The young and often-overlooked Grizzlies didn’t go quietly. Ja Morant, Memphis’s rookie of the year finalist, was electric, slithering regularly to the hoop to finish with a game-high 35 points and eight assists. Brandon Clarke, a rookie forward, scored 20 points off the bench and stretched Portland’s defense with a career-high four three-pointers.

The NBA recognized Lillard’s torrid scoring stretch Saturday by naming him MVP of its resumed regular season inside the bubble. With Portland’s win Saturday, the NBA’s playoff bracket was officially set, with games beginning Monday. In addition to the Lakers (1) vs. Blazers (8), the West will see Clippers (2) vs. Mavericks (7), Nuggets (3) vs. Jazz (6) and Rockets (4) vs. Thunder (5). The East bracket features Bucks (1) vs. Magic (8), Raptors (2) vs. Nets (7), Celtics (3) vs. 76ers (6) and Pacers (4) vs. Heat (5).

The Blazers’ matchup with the Lakers, which begins Tuesday, will be one of the NBA’s most compelling first-round series. ­LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Lillard will provide the star power, and the franchises have a lengthy playoff history. The ­Lakers have beaten the Blazers in nine of their 11 postseason meetings, including in the 2000 Western Conference finals when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal combined to lead a gallant Game 7 comeback. Portland swept the Lakers in the 1977 West finals before claiming the only championship in franchise history.

The Lakers possess a far superior defense, but they enter the playoffs without two guards — Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo — who would be helpful against Lillard and McCollum. James should wreak havoc against the Blazers’ perimeter core, which lacks a proven stopper with forward Trevor Ariza not playing in the bubble.

Although the Lakers, who won the season series 2-1, will have a major rest advantage, the Blazers will try to turn the series into a shootout. Portland’s offense ranked first out of 22 bubble teams, while its defense ranked 20th. The Blazers’ best hope for an improbable upset lies in Lillard’s hot hand and a storm of three-pointers from his supporting cast.

“The Lakers are the No. 1 seed in the West for a reason,” Lillard said. “They have [James], the best player in the world, on their team. At the same time, we didn’t fight as hard as we did in the bubble to say that we’re the eighth seed and get beat up on. We feel like we have a chance in a series against anybody in this league. We feel like we’ve got a chance in this series.”