Portland’s playoff pulse spiked Friday night as the Trail Blazers took care of business at Moda Center, rolling past the Los Angeles Clippers 116-97 in front of a raucous, pent-up crowd. The victory pushed Portland back to 41-40 and left Rip City buzzing about a decisive regular-season finale this weekend.
Deni Avdija led the charge with 35 points, while Donovan Clingan piled up 18 points and 13 rebounds and Robert Williams III gave the Blazers a major lift off the bench. According to the NBA box score, Avdija shot 11-for-19 from the field and Portland won the turnover battle down the stretch. The Blazers also leaned on balanced scoring from their role players and timely defense that helped swing the game in the fourth quarter, per NBA.com.
Fourth-quarter run sealed it
Portland built a 20-point lead by halftime and then outscored the Clippers 30-13 in the fourth to put the game away. The announced attendance at Moda Center was 19,490, and the late run came after the Blazers tightened up on defense and found open looks from the perimeter. Those closing sequences are laid out in the game recap and box score at RealGM.
Players say it's a playoff atmosphere
Afterward, Blazers players said it felt a lot more like mid-April than Game 81. “This is our first playoff game,” Toumani Camara said, calling the matchup the one that mattered most and urging the team to treat it like the postseason. Donovan Clingan echoed the urgency: “It’s crunch time. It’s time to win, and I know Rip City wants to win, too.” Acting coach Tiago Splitter stressed focus, saying the group is not done yet, “we have one more game to play in the regular season and we’ve got to finish the job here,” as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
What’s next
If Portland beats the Sacramento Kings on Sunday it will clinch the eighth seed and set up a 7-8 play-in meeting with the Phoenix Suns, per ESPN. How the Blazers manage minutes and matchups in that finale will shape whether they carry momentum into next week’s play-in.
The win gives Portland a burst of confidence. Avdija’s scoring and Clingan’s physical work on the glass handed the Blazers a playoff-like test they passed, and the city will get its answer on Sunday.
