The Portland Trail Blazers needed a win over the Denver Nuggets in the final game of the regular season to avoid the 7th seed in the Western Conference and an appointment in next week’s NBA Play-In Tournament. With Denver playing for essentially nothing, the Blazers got their wish easily. They opened the game with 11 straight points and never looked back, winning in a blowout.
The Blazers put 7 players in double-figures in the game. including three starters over 20: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic.
The victory guarantees the Blazers will finish no lower than 6th in the conference, with a chance to finish 5th if the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers both lose their games.