With three games left to play in the NBA regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers are sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
The Blazers (40-29) moved up to fifth on Tuesday night after the Dallas Mavericks (40-29) were blown out by the ninth-place Memphis Grizzlies 133-104. Despite the identical records, the Blazers beat the Mavericks in two of three meetings this season to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker. That leaves Dallas in sixth. The Mavericks also have three games left to play.
The Los Angeles Lakers needed overtime to outlast the New York Knicks 101-99. The Lakers (39-30) are in seventh place, one game behind the Mavericks and Blazers.
Elsewhere in the West, Golden State beat Phoenix 122-116 to maintain a half game lead over Memphis for eighth place. Both the Warriors and Grizzlies now have clinched spots in the play-in tournament.
The L.A. Clippers and Denver Nuggets each won to remain in third and fourth place, respectively.
The top six teams in the West will clinch playoff spots, while the seventh through 10th place teams will head to a play-in tournament to determine the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds. The regular season ends Sunday.
Here’s a look at the Western Conference playoff race through Tuesday’s games:
TUESDAY’S SCORES
• Denver 117, Charlotte 112
• L.A. Clippers 115, Toronto 96
• Memphis 133, Dallas 104
• Golden State 122, Phoenix 116
• Sacramento 122, Oklahoma City 106
• L.A. Lakers 101, New York 99 (OT)
WEST STANDINGS
| Western Conference | W-L | GB |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Utah Jazz | 50-19 | — |
| 2. Phoenix Suns | 48-21 | 2 |
| 3. Los Angeles Clippers | 46-23 | 4 |
| 4. Denver Nuggets | 45-24 | 5 |
| 5. Portland Trail Blazers | 40-29 | 10 |
| 6. Dallas Mavericks | 40-29 | 10 |
| ————————- | ||
| 7. Los Angeles Lakers | 39-30 | 11 |
| 8. Golden State Warriors | 37-33 | 13.5 |
| 9. Memphis Grizzlies | 36-33 | 14 |
| 10. San Antonio Spurs | 33-35 | 16.5 |
| ————————- | ||
| New Orleans Pelicans | 31-38 | 19 |
| Sacramento Kings | 31-38 | 19 |
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY …
West matchups
(1) Utah vs. No. 8 seed
(2) Phoenix vs. No. 7 seed
(3) L.A. Clippers vs. (6) Dallas
(4) Denver vs. (5) Portland
IF THE PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY …
Game 1: (7) L.A. Lakers vs. (8) Golden State. Winner earns No. 7 seed for playoffs; loser plays winner of 9-10 matchup
Game 2: (9) Memphis vs. (10) San Antonio. Winner advances to play loser of 7-8 matchup; loser eliminated
Game 3: L.A. Lakers-Golden State loser vs. Memphis-San Antonio winner. Winner earns No. 8 seed for playoffs; loser eliminated
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
(all times Pacific)
• San Antonio at Brooklyn, 5 p.m.
• New Orleans at Dallas, 6 p.m.
• Portland at Utah, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN, NBCSNW)
• Houston at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
REMAINING OPPONENTS
Utah: vs. Portland, at Oklahoma City, at Sacramento
Phoenix: vs. Portland, at San Antonio, at San Antonio
L.A. Clippers: at Charlotte, at Houston, at Oklahoma City
Denver: at Minnesota, at Detroit, at Portland
Dallas: vs. New Orleans, vs. Toronto, at Minnesota
Portland: at Utah, at Phoenix, vs. Denver
L.A. Lakers: vs. Houston, at Indiana, at New Orleans
Golden State: vs. New Orleans, vs. Memphis
Memphis: vs. Sacramento, vs. Sacramento, at Golden State
San Antonio: at Brooklyn, at New York, vs. Phoenix, vs. Phoenix
New Orleans: at Dallas, at Golden State, vs. L.A. Lakers
Sacramento: at Memphis, at Memphis, vs. Utah
