The 7th seeded Phoenix Suns welcomed the 8th seeded Portland Trail Blazers at Mortgage Matchup Center Tuesday night.
Both teams were coming off a win from their final regular season game.
The winner of the game would officially clinch the 7th seed in the Western Conference and play the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
As for the loser, they would still have a chance to clinch the 8th seed, where they would play against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The loser would also host the 8th seeded game, which would be against the Los Angeles Clippers or Golden State Warriors.
The Suns finished 45-37 on the season, while the Trail Blazers finished with a 42-40 record.
This marked history for the Suns, as it was Phoenix’s first time playing in the NBA Play-In tournament.
“We understand how we win,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “It’s a culture of work. There’s nothing that has to change; you can sleep well at night knowing that our confidence comes from what we’ve done. Some of those basic tenets don’t change into a game like tonight.”
After clinching the 7th seed for the Play-In Tournament against the Dallas Mavericks, the Suns rested many starters, including key players Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks.
“They were gearing up for the playoffs,” Ott said regarding the team. “Even when Dillon (Brooks) came back, he knew what time of year it was and how little time he had to get back and get right and get in rhythm. Those guys are all a big piece, I think we found it in March and April.”
Both players were averaging 20+ points per game, while Booker led the team with 26.1 points per game.
For the Suns, Grayson Allen (hamstring) was listed on Game-Time Decision.
“He’ll warm up,” Ott said. “Try everything he can, it’s one of those nights where you try everything you can up until the last minute.”
As for Portland, Damian Lillard (achilles) was out, while Jerami Grant (calf) was on GTD.
Portland still had enough fire power to make noise, as they had the likes of Deni Avdija, who was averaging 24.2 PPG, while center Donovan Clingan was averaging a double-double, having 12.1 PPG and 11.6 rebounds per game.
“One of the most improved players over the last two years,” Ott said regarding Avdija. “His size, his ability to get downhill in today’s game, we got to play with enough physicality to keep him out of the paint.”
Avdija led the team in points and assists, as he also averaged 6.7 assists per game, while Clingan led the team in rebounds.
Even then, the Suns had solid players to rely on than just Booker and Brooks, such as Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin on the defensive end, Jalen Green, and Mark Williams.
“A lot of talent on the perimeter,” Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter said regarding the Suns. “There are two styles of basketball, trying to get threes and offensive rebounds. Defensively, they are aggressive, they try to create turnovers. It’s not a secret the way we play.”
As for the Trail Blazers, they had Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, and Shaedon Sharpe, who were all capable scorers.
“I love how forward thinking their group is,” Ott said regarding the Trail Blazers. “There’s a lot of similarities (between us), crashing the glass, pressure, their athleticism. They drive and crash. They’re going to shoot it; they space you out. They put your defensive in a bind. Every possession will be hard fought.”
Both teams were notorious for crashing the offensive glass, as both were top five in the league in offensive rebounds per game, which could be a deciding factor alongside the second units.
“Both teams will try to minimize what the other team does, and we go from there,” Splitter said. “They want to create turnovers, and we also want to do that.”
Before the game, Splitter confirmed that Grant would play against Phoenix.
As for Allen, he was ruled out prior to the game for Phoenix.
Before the game even began, the building was roaring, as the fans also seemed to be in playoff mode, and they kept it that way with every possession.
Every basket from Phoenix was met with cheers, while loud boos were heard when a foul was called on the Suns.
Late into the first, Gillespie was called for a screen foul, which Phoenix decided to challenge, and the challenge was successful, and Gillespie went to the line.
Entering the second quarter, the Suns led 33-31.
Booker got hot quickly as he grabbed 12 points, and Green followed with 10 points.
As for Portland, Holiday had 11 points.
Avdija only had four points, and Clingan had no points with three rebounds as the two went cold.
It had been a different game for both teams, as the Trail Blazers shot the ball deep, as they were 6-for-17 from downtown in the first quarter alone, while the Suns went 0-for-4 from deep.
“They shot it well tonight,” Green said. “That’s the best they shot all year.”
Early into the second, Portland went to work, as they were able to hit multiple threes and force tough shots on Phoenix, leading to a 24-8 run.
“Just get ready for Friday,” Booker said regarding the run. “Spend the night looking at what we could have did better to not go down 14 (points) early.”
Despite the big run, Portland only led 65-62 entering the second half.
Green had 22 points entering the second half, and Booker followed with 16 points.
Avdija popped off, as he had 16 points entering the half, with Holiday trailing him with 14 points.
The Suns still had a big problem, as the Trail Blazers had 21 bench points compared to Phoenix’s six bench points.
Early into the third, “Ref, you suck!” chants broke out after a foul on Green wasn’t called but a foul on Brooks was.
“It’s my opinion,” Green said. “They got to call that both ways if they’re going to call it for one person all night.”
Booker was called on a defensive foul, which Phoenix decided to challenge.
After reviewing the play, the referees deemed it to be an unsuccessful challenge.
Portland went on a 10-2 run, and the Suns found themselves in the bonus early into the third quarter.
“They take away the three-point line,” Ott said. “Top five in that, they really force you inside to their fives. There are probably some windows that we missed, spraying the ball out for some high-quality shots. We have three really good scorers in the mid-range, so we’ll definitely take a look at that.”
The Suns clawed their way back, and entering the fourth quarter; Portland led, but only by one point, and the building was loud and electric.
Green had 24 points and Booker followed with 19 points, while Brooks had 11 points and six rebounds.
As for the Trail Blazers, Avdija had 27 points, and Holiday had 16 points, having only scored five points since the first quarter.
“Credit to him,” Ott said regarding Avdija. “41 points, 12 assists, I thought he was phenomenal. His size, his strength, his ability to get to the free-throw line in key moments, so credit to him.”
With a playoff spot on the line, the Suns were looking to come out victorious, and the fans were backing them.
The Suns wasted no time, grabbing six quick points to take a five-point in less than a minute.
The game turned into a defensive battle, and Brooks was given a technical after saying something to the referee after fouling Avdija.
With seven minutes left, the Suns looked to put the game away after a 16-4 run.
Avdija hit a three to cut the lead to three, but the referees went to check on a possible flagrant foul after Clingan had pulled Brooks by his neck.
After review, the referees deemed it as a flagrant one foul, and Brooks went to the line.
With two minutes left, the Trail Blazers led by one.
With 37.3 seconds left, Avdija drove into the lane and scored a big-time bucket to give Portland a one-point lead.
“Defensively, we let Deni (Avdija) get downhill,” Booker said. “(We let him) make plays and score and me missing five free-throws.”
The Suns gave it to Goodwin, who was fouled after making a basket for a chance at a three-point play, but missed the free-throw as the Suns had a 110-109 lead with 31.1 seconds left.
Avdija drove again, and he got the bucket. Brooks fouled him during the shot.
That was Brooks’ sixth personal foul, meaning he had fouled out.
Avdija buried the free-throw as Portland had an 112-110 lead with 16.1 seconds left.
Green got the ball and missed a three-pointer, and Portland got a fast bucket to win 114-110 to seal the game.
“It was a good look,” Green said. “Maybe we could have dragged it out a little bit, wasted a little bit more of the clock but- trying to go for the win.”
Avdija exploded, finishing with 41 points and 12 assists, a double-double for him, while Holiday followed with 21 points for Portland.
Clingan finished with 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
As for the Suns, Green finished with 35 points and Booker tailed him with 22 points.
The team seemed deflated by the loss, and Green wasn’t afraid to tell the media.
“Everyone’s upset,” Green told reporters after the game. “It’s a game we should’ve won but we know it’s important to shake that off, next game mentality.”
With the win, Portland clinches the seventh seed and will play the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Playoffs.
“That’s been the story of the end of our season so far,” Booker said. “I think we just need to remain aggressive. I think we get a little lead, and we kind of slow down a little bit, and that’s not what got us the lead in the first place.
As for the Suns, they will host the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Mortgage Matchup Center.
“We addressed it right away,” Ott said. “Just get in any way possible. It’s been our goal for a while, so we got to move on. It sucks; these are hard to take but there’s stuff to learn in here that we got to learn fast and do everything we can to get ready for Friday night.”
