Mar
26
Playoff Picture: March 26th
By sarahhecht Posted in: playoffs
I’m still in shock.
WHAT A WIN LAST NIGHT!! The Trail Blazers got down to business in their win over the San Antonio Spurs.
I’m calling it my favorite win of the season. Not due to the late game heroics of Nicolas Batum and Andre Miller, but because of the composure Portland maintained down the stretch. The cool heads and the ability to resist launching threes paid off. They played smart, waited for quality shots and got big stops with their lock down defense.
We looked like a playoff team last night. A STRONG playoff team.
Last night's scores and effects:
The
Memphis Grizzlies fell to the 
Chicago Bulls 96-99 in Chicago. Even with the loss Memphis remains in the 8th seed in the Western Conference. The Grizz have a game and a half lead over the Houston Rockets, but the Rockets are on a roll so they better be careful.
The
Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the 
Oklahoma City Thunder 103-111 in Oklahoma City. The Thunder remain in 4th in the West. Minnesota is out of playoff contention.
The
Washington Wizards were defeated by the 
Denver Nuggets 94-114 in Denver. The Nuggets win keeps them a game and a half ahead of the Trail Blazers and in the 5th seed in the Western Conference.
The
New Orleans Hornets beat the 
Phoenix Suns 106-100 in Phoenix. The Hornets kept the gap with Portland to half a game with their win. Phoenix drops to three full games behind Memphis. They’re running out of time to close the gap and make it to the post season.
The
San Antonio Spurs were felled by the 
Portland Trail Blazers 96-98 in Portland. NICOLAS BATUM! In a game decided with a buzzer beater by Batum the Trail Blazers maintained 6th place in the Western Conference. The league leading Spurs also maintained their 1st seed.
The
LA Clippers were downed by the 
LA Lakers 104-112 in Los Angeles. The 2nd seed Lakers put another half game of distance between them and the Dallas Mavericks in 3rd. The Clippers are out of playoff contention.
Tonight’s games with Western Conference potential playoff teams:
Dallas Mavericks (50-21) vs. 
Utah Jazz (36-37) Dallas has a chance to make-up the ground they lost last night when the Los Angeles Lakers dropped the Clippers. The Mavericks currently sit in 3rd place and they’re a game and a half behind LA in 2nd. It’s coming down to the wire for Utah. They sit in 11th, four full games out of the playoffs. If they’re going to make a final push they have to start tonight.
Here are the playoff match-ups as of today:
(Tables courtesy of NBA.com)