Play‑in shocks: Hornets, Blazers

Charlotte and Portland upended the opening night of the National Basketball Association play-in on Tuesday, with the Hornets eliminating Miami and the Trail Blazers taking the West’s No. 7 seed. (sports.yahoo.com) Charlotte beat Miami 127-126 in overtime in the Eastern Conference 9-versus-10 game after LaMelo Ball scored on a layup with 4.7 seconds left and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell at the buzzer. Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists as Miami’s season ended. (espn.com) Portland beat Phoenix 114-110 in the Western Conference 7-versus-8 game after Deni Avdija scored 41 points, added 12 assists and seven rebounds, and converted a go-ahead three-point play with 16.1 seconds left. The Trail Blazers closed on a 25-10 run after trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter. (espn.com) The play-in is the National Basketball Association’s four-team tournament for each conference’s last two playoff spots, with the No. 7 and No. 8 finishers getting two chances and the No. 9 and No. 10 finishers facing elimination immediately. Tuesday’s results sent Portland straight into the playoffs and kept Charlotte alive for one more game. (nba.com) Portland’s win set a first-round series against the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs, while Phoenix dropped into a final play-in game Friday for the No. 8 seed and a matchup with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Charlotte advanced to face the loser of the Atlanta Hawks-Orlando Magic game for the East’s No. 8 seed. (espn.com) (nba.com) Miami had reached the playoffs through the play-in in earlier seasons, but this time the Heat were knocked out in Charlotte despite leading by one with 8.7 seconds left in overtime. The Hornets, who finished the regular season 44-38, moved on after ending the game with Ball’s drive and Bridges’ stop. (espn.co.uk) (espn.com.au) Phoenix entered as the higher seed at 45-37 and hosted the game, but Portland’s late push flipped the bracket in one night. The Trail Blazers, who finished 42-40, are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021. (espn.com) (hoodline.com) What looked like a routine path for Miami and Phoenix turned into two one-possession finishes, one in overtime and one in the final seconds of regulation. By the end of Tuesday night, Charlotte still had a chance to claim the East’s last berth and Portland had already played its way into a first-round series with San Antonio. (sports.yahoo.com)