The Portland Trail Blazers look to secure the No. 8 position in the Western Conference when they host the woeful Sacramento Kings on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both clubs.
The Trail Blazers put themselves in position to nab a spot in the key 7 vs. 8 play-in contest by routing the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 116-97 on Friday night.
Portland (41-40) and Los Angeles share the same record but the Trail Blazers hold the tiebreaker edge due to having a better record in Western Conference games.
The big deal between being No. 8 or No. 9 is this: Teams in the 7-8 game earn a playoff berth with one win with the loser receiving a second chance. The teams in the 9 vs. 10 pairing need two wins to get in.
Portland is well aware of what’s at stake against the Kings.
“We’ve got one game left in the regular season,” Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter said after Friday’s contest. “We‘ve got to finish the job here.”
Portland certainly played with more urgency than the Clippers. The Trail Blazers outscored Los Angeles 30-13 in the final quarter.
The Trail Blazers racked up 12 steals, four by reserve Matisse Thybulle.
“We had an outstanding performance defensively,” Splitter said. “A lot of guys did a good job.”
All-Star forward Deni Avdija led the offensive surge with 35 points. It marked his 14th game of 30 or more points this season.
“He was aggressive, he was getting to the paint, he was finding teammates and getting to the free-throw line,” Splitter said of Avdija. “Nothing new I can say about him.”
Shaedon Sharpe returned from a 28-game absence due to calf and fibula injuries to play 15 minutes off the bench against the Clippers. The guard, who last played on Feb. 6, had eight points and four rebounds.
The Trail Blazers are 3-0 against the Kings this season but the Dec. 18 contest in Portland was a wild battle.
Portland pulled out a 134-133 overtime win behind two free throws from Avdija with 1.5 seconds left to cap his 35-point outing. Sacramento forced the OT with an electric 17-2 burst to end regulation. The Kings’ DeMar DeRozan had 33 points, including the tying 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left.
On Sunday, the Kings (22-59) will be looking to avoid the second 60-loss campaign in franchise history. Sacramento went 17-65 in the 2008-09 campaign.
The Kings have performed well this month with three wins in five games. Sacramento just split a home-and-home with the Golden State Warriors, losing 110-105 on the road Tuesday and following up with a 124-118 home win on Friday.
Devin Carter scored a career-high 29 points while Maxime Raynaud added 23 for the Kings in their home finale.
“Couldn’t get any better, and the way we did it was also awesome,” Raynaud said afterward. “I mean, it was a very physical game. Obviously people were talking on both sides the whole time. It was pretty well fought, pretty close till the end, so the best way to go out.”
DeRozan sat out the past two games due to right hamstring soreness and will sit out Sunday as well. He turns 37 in August and is under contract for next season.
“I’ve been doing this for 17 years, it’s beyond a blessing,” DeRozan said of his career. “… But it’s been a tough year for us.”
Carter also established career bests of six 3-pointers and nine rebounds on Friday. The first-round pick (No. 13 overall) in 2024 has played in 73 games (11 starts) over his two NBA seasons.
“It’s just the confidence,” Carter said of his big outing. “I put the work in. At the end of the day, I just imagine being in the gym working by myself. That’s all it is.”
