{"id":703652,"date":"2026-04-07T16:36:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/703652\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T16:36:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:36:32","slug":"blazers-collapse-vs-nuggets-delivers-brutal-blow-in-playoff-seeding-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/703652\/","title":{"rendered":"Blazers’ Collapse vs. Nuggets Delivers Brutal Blow in Playoff Seeding Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe Blazers’ heartbreaking collapse against the Nuggets exposed the high-stakes tension of the NBA playoff race.Los Angeles Today<\/p>\n

The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday, blowing a 16-point fourth quarter lead despite setting a franchise record with 25 made 3-pointers. The defeat leaves the Blazers clinging to the 9th seed in the Western Conference playoff race, a half-game behind the 8th place Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

This loss was a major missed opportunity for the Blazers to move up in the standings and avoid the play-in tournament. The race for the final playoff spots in the West is extremely tight, and the Blazers now face an uphill battle to secure a guaranteed playoff berth.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Blazers led the Nuggets by 16 points in the fourth quarter, but collapsed down the stretch and ultimately lost in overtime 137-132. Despite their historic 3-point shooting performance, the Blazers were unable to hold onto the lead and now remain in 9th place in the West, a half-game behind the Clippers for the 8th seed.<\/p>\n

The Blazers’ loss to the Nuggets occurred on Monday, April 7, 2026.The Blazers’ next game is against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, April 9, 2026 at 9:30 pm ET.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Portland Trail Blazers<\/p>\n

An NBA team based in Portland, Oregon that is currently fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n

An NBA team based in Denver, Colorado that defeated the Blazers in overtime on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Clippers<\/p>\n

An NBA team based in Los Angeles, California that currently holds the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of the Blazers.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a tough one to swallow. We had them on the ropes and just couldn’t finish it off. We’ve got to regroup and get ready for the Spurs on Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Damian Lillard, Blazers Point Guard<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Blazers will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they take on the Spurs in San Antonio. A win would be crucial to keep pace in the tight Western Conference playoff race.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

The Blazers’ collapse against the Nuggets was a brutal blow to their playoff positioning, but they still control their own destiny with a key matchup against the Clippers remaining. How they respond in the coming games will be crucial in determining whether they can avoid the play-in tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Blazers’ heartbreaking collapse against the Nuggets exposed the high-stakes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3789],"tags":[7,559,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-703652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-clippers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-clippers","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-clippers","12":"tag-laclippers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangelesclippers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116364404735476941","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}