Trail Blazers advance in play‑in

Portland is through to the National Basketball Association playoffs after beating Phoenix 114-110 in the Western Conference play-in on Tuesday night. (nba.com) The Trail Blazers erased an 11-point deficit and locked up the No. 7 seed in the West with the win at Footprint Center on April 14. Deni Avdija led Portland with 41 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists on 15-for-22 shooting. (nba.com) Phoenix entered as the No. 7 team and Portland as No. 8, with the winner moving straight into the first round and the loser dropping into a second play-in game. The National Basketball Association’s 2026 play-in tournament runs from April 14 to April 17, with the full playoffs starting April 18. (nba.com) Portland’s reward is a first-round series against San Antonio, the West’s No. 2 seed. Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. (nba.com) The play-in exists to sort out the last two playoff spots in each conference. Teams that finish seventh through 10th play short, high-stakes games: seventh hosts eighth for the No. 7 seed, while ninth hosts 10th to stay alive for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That format gave Portland two chances to reach the bracket, but it only needed one. By beating Phoenix in the 7-versus-8 game, the Trail Blazers skipped the Friday elimination round entirely. (nba.com) San Antonio finished 60-22 and enters the series behind Victor Wembanyama after securing the conference’s second seed. Portland closed the regular season at 41-41, then added the play-in win to reach its first playoff appearance since 2021. (nba.com)