The Portland Trail Blazers moved to within a half-game of the No. 8 spot in the West with a 114-104 win at the LA Clippers on Tuesday night.
Portland carried a sizeable lead most of the way, going ahead 34-29 on a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer later in the first quarter and staying a step ahead the rest of the night.
Toumani Camara converted a floater in the lane to put Portland up 104-90 with 6:29 to play, and Donovan Clingan dunked one home to put the game out of reach down the stretch.
Holiday finished with a team-high 30 points on 7 of 15 (46.7%) shooting from 3-point range, while Deni Avdija added 28 points and eight assists.
Portland dominated the boards and finished with an 18-point edge in second-chance points.
“We knew that in this type of game, we had to limit our mistakes,” Portland’s Kris Murray said. “We were able to do that, keep the lead and extend the lead.”
Portland (39-38) takes on New Orleans at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Moda Center.
The Clippers come to Portland on April 10 for a game that could determine the No. 8 seed for the play-in games.