Portland holds Phoenix at half
In Tuesday’s live West play‑in window Portland led Phoenix at halftime behind hot shooting, with Jrue Holiday scoring 14 first‑half points. (si.com) Coverage described the halftime edge as early momentum for Portland while the late game remained live in streaming updates. (nytimes.com)
Portland took a halftime lead over Phoenix on Tuesday night in the Western Conference play-in game, with Jrue Holiday scoring 14 points before the break. (si.com) The April 14 game matched the Western Conference’s seventh and eighth seeds, and the winner would claim the No. 7 playoff spot. The Athletic’s live coverage listed Portland-Phoenix as the late game in the opening play-in window. (nytimes.com) Portland entered the night as the No. 8 team in the West after a 42-40 regular season. Basketball-Reference listed Phoenix as Portland’s next opponent in the play-in on Tuesday. (basketball-reference.com) The National Basketball Association’s play-in format gives teams that finish seventh through tenth a short path to the final two playoff berths in each conference. In the 7-versus-8 game, the winner advances directly as the No. 7 seed and the loser gets one more chance in a later elimination game. (nbcnewyork.com) That structure made Portland’s fast first half significant even before the final score was settled, because one strong stretch could move an eighth-place team straight into the main bracket. NBA.com’s schedule labeled the game “West: Winner earns 7 seed.” (nba.com) Holiday’s role also stood out because he is one of Portland’s veteran guards on a roster that reached the postseason edge after finishing.500-plus in the regular season. Portland’s official site named Holiday the team’s 2025-26 Maurice Lucas Award winner on April 10. (nba.com) Phoenix, meanwhile, came in with Devin Booker as the headliner in a home game that local coverage framed as a chance to lock up the West’s seventh seed. The Arizona Republic listed the April 14 matchup as Suns versus Trail Blazers in the play-in tournament. (azcentral.com) The night opened with Charlotte eliminating Miami in overtime, then shifted to Portland and Phoenix for the West result. By late in the fourth quarter, NBA.com’s live schedule still showed the game in progress, underscoring how quickly the halftime edge could turn in a one-game playoff. (nba.com)
