Blazers clinch, Spurs matchup

Portland beat Phoenix 114-110 on Tuesday night to grab the Western Conference’s No. 7 playoff seed and set a first-round series against No. 2 San Antonio. (cbssports.com) The Trail Blazers won the 7-versus-8 play-in game on April 14, which sends the winner straight into the playoffs and leaves the loser for one more elimination game. The National Basketball Association’s official postseason schedule lists the play-in tournament from April 14 through April 17, with the first round starting April 18. (nba.com) Portland finished the regular season 42-40, then advanced by winning on the road in Phoenix against a Suns team that also entered the play-in at 45-37. San Antonio finished 62-20 and locked up the West’s No. 2 seed before the bracket was finalized. (cbssports.com) (nba.com) The matchup became official because the No. 7 seed always opens against the No. 2 seed in the National Basketball Association bracket. The league’s playoff bracket now shows Portland in the 7 line opposite San Antonio in the West first round. (nba.com) That result also shortened Portland’s path into the postseason. Teams that lose the 7-versus-8 play-in game fall into a second game against the winner of the 9-versus-10 matchup for the final No. 8 seed. (nba.com) (sportingnews.com) The first two games of the series are scheduled for April 19 and April 21 in San Antonio, according to Portland’s team schedule. Games 3 and 4 are set for April 24 and April 26 at Moda Center in Portland. (cbssports.com) Portland reached the bracket by surviving the play-in; San Antonio arrived there by finishing with one of the West’s two best records over 82 games. That sets up a series between a team that had to win its way in this week and a team that avoided the extra round entirely. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) With the No. 7 seed settled, Portland’s next game is no longer about qualifying. It is Game 1 against the Spurs on Saturday, April 19. (cbssports.com) (nba.com)