With the season threatening to disappear, Damian Lillard decided it was time to shoot, even though he was so far away that his foot touched the logo near Midcourt.
A few minutes later, he threw his body on the floor at the same spot, and came up with a steal that was the game’s greatest defensive play.
Lillard did it all to give Portland a spot in the NBA’s first play-in series, scoring 42 points to help the Trail Blazers escape with a 134-133 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
“The urgency, the energy, the pace, everything, just felt like there was something on the line,” LIllard said.
The Trail Blazers secured the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference only after Brooklyn’s Caris LeVert, who scored 37 points, missed a jumper before time ran out. Portland will play ninth-seeded Memphis on Saturday. If the Grizzlies win, the deciding game would be Sunday.
The winner of the play-in series gets the final spot in the West and a first-round series against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Portland finished in eighth place that day, but would have fallen out of the playoffs with a loss, thanks to victories earlier Thursday by Memphis and Phoenix. If the Blazers had lost, the Suns would have them for ninth.
But Lillard would not let the Blazers down, after his 51- and 61-point games in the previous two games, not only with more sensational scores, but also with an enormous defensive play.
He chased LeVert for a steal with Portland holding on to a two-point lead with 1:12 to play, setting up CJ McCollum’s free throw that made it 134-130. LeVert came back with a three-point play and had a chance to win it after Carmelo Anthony missed a tthree pointer, but his jumper was out.
Unlike the Grizzlies and Suns, who cried in their afternoon games, the Blazers needed to go all the way to the wire to defeat the Nets. Portland scored 73 points in the first half, but led by just six after Brooklyn shot 59%.
LeVert then scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, part of what became a 17-3 run, when Brooklyn turned an eight-point deficit into a 91-85 lead. A 3-pointer from Luwawu-Cabarrot extended the lead to 102-92 with 1:46 over in the period and the Nets took a 104-97 lead after the fourth.
Lillard then hit a pair of threes with one foot on the logo near midcourt during a 12-4 surge that cleared a seven-point deficit and put Portland back on top 112-111.
“Honestly the role he’s been in, we’re missing some shots and that’s Lady,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Lillard’s decision to launch from 36 feet with the Nets trying to force the ball out of his hands. as soon as he crosses midcourt.
Brooklyn would later go back through five before Portland pulled it out.
McCollum had 25 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who went 6-2 in the seeding games.
Joe Harris and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot each scored 19 points for the Nets, who finished 5-3. They were already locked in a first round with defending champions Toronto, but played their starters as if they needed the win.
Grizzlies 119, Bucks 106
Jonas Valanciunas and Ja Morant had triple-doubles and Memphis kept their season alive with a win over Milwaukee, leaving star star Giannis Antetokounmpo missing after he was stopped for leading an opponent.
Dillon Brooks added 31 points as Memphis posted its second win-to-wire win of the season and grabbed a spot in the play-in series. Memphis has not been in the playoffs for the past two years after making seven straight appearances after the 2011-17 season.
Valanciunas had 26 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists for his first triple-double in his 559th career game. The 28-year-old Valanciunas’ previous career high in assists was five. Morant had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
This marked the first time two teammates had placed triple-doubles in the same game since Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler did it on Dec. 10 in a 135-121 victory over Atlanta.
Brook Lopez scored 19 points for the Bucks, who had already claimed the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for a second straight season.
Suns 128, Mavericks 102
Devin Booker scored 27 points and Phoenix rolled past Dallas to finish as the only unbeaten team in the playoffs.
Dario Saric scored 16 points and Cameron Payne and Cameron Johnson each added 15 for the Suns.
Dallas was already locked in a playoff matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, allowing the starters to play limited minutes. Luka Doncic had 18 points in just over 13 minutes. Boban Marjanovic, Dallas’ 7ft 4in reserve center, had 18 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
Jazz 118, Spurs 112
Rayjon Tucker scored 18 points and Utah beat San Antonio after the Spurs were eliminated from the playoff controversy, ending their streak of appearances after the season at 22 years old.
Jarrell Brantley added 13 for the Jazz, and Donovan Mitchell had 11 points in 11 minutes.
Keldon Johnson scored 24 points for the Spurs. The Spurs were officially fired when Memphis defeated Milwaukee, and Phoenix completed an unrestricted eight-game run in the NBA’s restart tube at Walt Disney World with a victory over Dallas.
Kings 136, Lakers 122
Buddy Hield scored 28 points, including a three-pointer that swept the Sacramento region of 11 consecutive mandrels the third period, and the Kings beat Los Angeles.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 27 points when the Kings only started the NBA restart for the third time. The Kings scored 21 three-pointers, making Hield 8 out of 14.
The Lakers had their focus on the playoffs. Most Lakers starters were kept, but LeBron James had 17 points in 15 minutes, all in the first half. Dion Waiters led the Lakers with 19 points. Markieff Morris had 14.
Los Angeles closed out the Western Conference No. 1 seed to start three games in a row.
Wizards 96. Celtics 90
Thomas Bryant had 26 points and nine rebounds to help Washington beat Boston for its lone win in the restart.
Troy Brown Jr. added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Wizards.
The Celtics, already trapped in a playoff matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, rested their starters. Rookie Javonte Green took advantage and scored a season-high 23 points for Boston.
Magic 133, Pelicans 127
Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points on 10-of-11 shots from the floor and Orlando tuned for the postseason by defeating New Orleans to snap a five-game drive.
Both teams missed many of their top players in a final in the regular season that has no consequences for playoffs.
Orlando was locked in the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in a first-round series beginning Tuesday. New Orleans was already out of the playoff controversy, so the season ended.
Frank Jackson scored 31 points for the Pelicans.
