Deni Avdija scored 35 points, Donovan Clingan had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-97 on Friday night to take the inside track for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
If Portland beats the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, the Blazers will secure their spot in the 7-8 play-in game on Tuesday in Phoenix against the Suns.
Robert Williams III had 13 points and 10 rebounds as Portland outrebounded the Clippers 46-35 and won the turnover battle despite leading the league in turnovers.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points and eight rebounds. After Portland took a 55-35 first-half lead, the Clippers stormed back. Jordan Miller´s 3-pointer gave the Clippers their first lead since the first quarter at 82-79 with 2:05 left in the third. But the lead was short-lived as Matisse Thybulle tied it at 82 on Portland´s next possession. After the Clippers took an 88-86 lead with 11:06 left, Jrue Holiday tied the game at 88 with free throws and Williams gave Portland a 90-88 lead with 10:31 left.
Williams scored on a dunk with 8:22 left to make it 92-88, forcing a timeout. Leonard missed a jumper out of the timeout and Avdija´s 3-point play made it 95-88 with 7:41 left. Avdija made two foul shots to make it 99-90 with 4:51 left. Brook Lopez’s 3-pointer with 4:36 left made it 99-93. Portland´s Toumani Camara made it 101-93 on Portland´s next possession. Lopez was called for a technical foul with 3:26 left and Avdija made the shot to make it 104-93.
Avdija hit a 3-pointer with 2:41 left to make it 109-93 and Portland never looked back. Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe returned after missing the last 28 games and finished with eight points in 15 minutes.