Apr
04
Playoff Picture: April 4th
By sarahhecht Posted in: playoffs
The Trail Blazers keep cranking out the solid performances.
Last night in the Rose Garden was no exception. Portland kicked the tar out of the Dallas Mavericks 104-96. The score certainly doesn’t show the total domination of this game, but trust me, that’s how it was.
Portland moved one step closer to clinching a playoff berth and lowered their
magic number to one. ONE. I know I’ll breathe a little easier when we’ve secured a spot in the post season.
If you missed the game you can recap it with Mike Barrett in
Blazers Blow Past Dallas.
There are zero games tonight around the league. Yes, you read that correctly, zero. So I’ll see you tomorrow for previews of the important Western Conference matchups. In the mean time, enjoy the NCAA National Championship game!
Last night's scores and effects:
The
Phoenix Suns were downed by the 
San Antonio Spurs 97-114 in San Antonio. The Spurs ended their losing streak with a bang yesterday. Their stomping of the Suns and the New Orleans win caused Phoenix to be eliminated from the playoff race. San Antonio put another full game between them and Lakers in 2nd. They still lead the Western Conference and are ahead of Los Angeles by two and a half games.
The
Denver Nuggets toppled the 
LA Lakers 95-90 in Los Angeles. The Nuggets snapped the Lakers nine-game winning streak. Denver clinched a playoff berth with the win and they remain the 5th seed in the West. The Lakers remain in 2nd but they fell to two and a half games behind San Antonio in 1st.
The
Atlanta Hawks lost to the 
Houston Rockets 109-114 in Houston. The Rockets are holding on. Even with their win they still stand in 9th in the Western Conference. They’re three full games behind Memphis in the 8th seed, so they have some work to do to make it to the post season.
The
Indiana Pacers fell to the 
New Orleans Hornets 96-108 in New Orleans. The Hornets jumped back into 7th place in the West with their defeat of the Pacers. They’re tied with Memphis is winning percentage but take the lead with the conference record tie breaker.
The
Dallas Mavericks were stomped by the 
Portland Trail Blazers 96-104 in Portland. The score in this one doesn’t paint the whole picture. The Trail Blazers dominated this game from start to finish. Portland keeps 6th place in the West and Dallas maintains 3rd.
Today’s games with Western Conference potential playoff teams:
Well this is easy... there aren’t any.
Here are the playoff match-ups as of today:
(Tables courtesy of NBA.com)