PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Portland Trail Blazers scored a 115-99 home win over Memphis on Wednesday night to move within two games of a spot in the play-in phase of the postseason.
The tone was set immediately in this one with Jaren Jackson Jr. stepping out of bounds on the Grizzlies’ first possession. Portland turned the mistake into quick points on a Toumani Camara triple, and the Blazers never trailed.
Portland opened up a 20-point margin after scoring on their first four possessions of the third quarter. Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons and Camara all hit from behind the arc, and Donovan Clingan converted a layup in the paint for a quick 11 points.
The Blazers put the game away when Simons scored on a finger roll in the lane, followed by Duop Reath with a tip-in at the rim for a 113-94 lead with three minutes left.
Portland forward Deni Avdija finished with a game-high 31 points on 5 of 8 (62.5%) shooting from 3-point range, while Simons added 22 points.
Dallas lost 135-131 at Indiana on Wednesday, allowing Phoenix to overtake it for the last play-in spot. The Suns hold the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams.
Portland sits two games back. The Trail Blazers split their season series with the Suns, and lost the season series to Dallas. Portland loses the divisional tiebreaker to both Phoenix and Dallas at the moment.
Portland (31-39) hosts Denver at 7 p.m. Friday night at the Moda Center.