The first night of the NBA Play-In Tournament delivered.
The Portland Trail Blazers secured their first playoff appearance since 2021, rallying past the Phoenix Suns 114-110 on Tuesday in the Western Conference’s 7-8 game.
Portland trailed deep into the fourth quarter before flipping the game late. Jerami Grant drilled two 3-pointers, the second giving the Blazers a 107-106 lead with 1:54 remaining, their first lead since early in the third quarter. Devin Booker answered with two free throws to briefly put Phoenix back in front. Deni Avdija countered with a close-range finish, and after Jordan Goodwin’s reverse layup gave Phoenix the edge in the final 30 seconds, Avdija delivered the decisive blow.
He converted on a driving layup and an and-1 free throw with 16.1 seconds left to put Portland ahead for good. Jalen Green missed a potential tying 3, and the Blazers added a late basket to seal it.
Portland, which rode hot outside shooting early before cooling off in the second half, secured the West’s No.7 seed and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns will face the winner of Wednesday’s LA Clippers-Golden State Warriors for a chance to claim the No. 8 seed and a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Eastern Conference game earlier in the evening offered a different script, but just as much drama.
The Charlotte Hornets overcame horrific shooting from star guards LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel to survive a 127-126 overtime thriller against the Miami Heat, ending Miami’s season.
Ball, the Hornets’ star, gave the Hornets the lead for good with a go-ahead layup in the closing seconds of overtime. Then, Charlotte survived when Davion Mitchell’s layup reply was blocked.
Ball and Knueppel combined to shoot 2 of 21 on 3-pointers in regulation, and the Hornets made just 17 of 52 from that distance through four quarters.
But the Hornets, the No. 1 team in 3-pointers made during the regular season, got a tying 3 from trade-deadline acquisition Coby White with 10.8 seconds left in regulation, and Miami’s Tyler Herro missed a potential game-winner, sending the game to overtime.
Ball redeemed himself with the game-winning layup on a drive with 4.7 seconds remaining.
“We stuck with it,” Ball told Amazon Prime’s Cassidy Hubbarth. “We grinded it out. We weren’t hitting a lot of 3s. A lot of shots we weren’t hitting, but, like I said, we stuck with it.”
White, acquired from the Chicago Bulls in February, scored 17 of his 19 points off the bench in the second half, including 14 in the third quarter.
Ball finished with 30 points, five rebounds and 10 assists, despite going 2 for 16 from 3-point range. Miles Bridges scored 28 points and added nine rebounds, Brandon Miller had 23 points with five assists, and Moussa Diabate grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.
Miami played nearly the entire game without Bam Adebayo, who exited early in the second quarter with a lower back injury and did not return.
Mitchell led the Heat with 28 points, while Andrew Wiggins added 27 points. Kel’el Ware had 12 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks for Miami.
Charlotte advances to face the loser of Wednesday’s Philadelphia 76ers-Orlando Magic Play-In game for a chance at the East’s No. 8 seed.
Here are our takeaways on the first night of Play-In action:
The Hornets’ franchise player has his moment
With the Hornets down by one with 8.7 seconds remaining in overtime, head coach Charles Lee went to his team’s franchise player.
It didn’t matter that Ball had made just 12 of his 30 shots to that point and never really found a rhythm in his first playoff game since losing in a Play-In game in 2022. Ball is the Hornets’ best creator, the man they’ve counted on all season to create offense, and they needed a bucket.
So Lee drew up a play that spread the floor for Ball and gave him a chance to isolate against a defender in the middle of the floor. Even with Jaime Jaquez Jr. hanging all over him, Ball turned the corner and laid a finger roll off the glass to give the Hornets a one-point lead and a win to advance to Friday for a chance to take the No. 8 seed in the East.
Ball did not shoot well Tuesday. He did not perform well in his last Play-In game in 2022, where he made just seven of his 25 shots in a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks. And he did not perform well in his first Play-In game in 2021, where he shot just 4 for 14 from the field.
In the end, Ball still managed to become the second player in franchise history to put up at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a postseason setting. But if the Hornets are going to advance to the NBA playoffs, they will need Ball to perform better Friday. — Eric Nehm, NBA writer
The beauty of Deni Avdija
If there was ever any question whether Avdija can be a No. 1 option, that was answered definitively on Tuesday when the Blazers’ 25-year old star scored 41 points to lead Portland to a 114-110 victory over Phoenix.
This was the return of the Avdija from the early season, when he was one of the best players in the NBA. He was fast, powerful and precise with lob passes, facets that seemed to be hindered after he suffered a back injury in January that kept him out of 16 of the next 24 games.
But his performance Tuesday was everything that made him a first-time All-Star: The Blazers had him initiate the action, which he used to drive at defenders, hit 3-pointers and continually draw fouls. The game’s signature moment — Avdija breaking down the defense and completing a bee-line drive while being fouled with 16 seconds left — was vintage Avdija.
He added 12 assists, seven rebounds and two blocks and the affirmation that he can be the Blazers’ go-to player. — Jason Quick, NBA writer
Portland’s Deni Avdija rose to the moment. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
Heat didn’t have enough tonight — and all season
The Miami Heat didn’t quit when a potentially dangerous play by Ball sent Adebayo to the locker room a minute into the second quarter and forced the Heat pillar to miss the remainder of the game. As they always have under head coach Erik Spoelstra, they kept fighting until the end.
But they didn’t just have enough Tuesday night. And unfortunately for them, that sentiment wasn’t true only of the final game of the season; it was true for the entire season.
The Heat now must figure out what comes next as they attempt to chart a path forward after a frustrating season. The stress of this season wore on Adebayo more than anyone else on the roster, and the on-court standard bearer of “Heat Culture” was unafraid of sharing his frustration throughout this season.
Sadly for the Heat, the play by Ball and subsequent lower-back injury kept Adebayo from being on the floor until the end to try to earn his team another game and one last chance to make the playoffs.
Tyler Herro stepped up in Adebayo’s absence and hit big shots and free throws late in the game to keep the Heat alive. Davion Mitchell led Miami in scoring with 28 points on the night. But as was so often the case this season and the last few seasons, it just wasn’t enough. — Nehm
Jalen Green still shines
A bright spot for Phoenix — Green was, at times, a force.
Green played in just 32 games during the regular season, sidelined for much of the first half with a hamstring injury. He’s still trying to figure out where he fits, and the Suns are still trying to figure out how best to use him. There have been awkward moments. Green needs the ball to be effective, which can lead to overdribbling and questionable decisions. At the same time, Green remains one of the league’s more explosive guards.
All of that was on display in Tuesday night’s loss. Green hit his first four shots, then he forced a couple. After one miss, he dropped his head while Portland bolted downcourt for an easy dunk. Suns coach Jordan Ott called timeout and stopped Green for a quick conversation near mid-court on the way to the bench.
But Green, at times, also helped rescue Phoenix. Down 14 in the second quarter, the explosive guard scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the half, pulling the Suns within 65-62. It was the adrenaline burst the home team needed. And it got the crowd back in the game. Green struck again late in the game, knocking down a 3-pointer with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter to give the Suns a 105-97 lead. He finished with 35 points on 14-of-29 shooting. — Doug Haller, NBA writer
At times, Jalen Green dazzled, and disappeared, in Tuesday’s game. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
Live by the 3, (nearly) die by the 3
Only one team in the NBA took a greater percentage of their shots behind the 3-point line than the Hornets, who attempted 45.2 percent of their shots from deep this season. Over a large sample size, the Hornets made that work. They shot well enough and hit the offensive glass hard enough to tilt the match in their favor and turn their season around after a 4-14 start. Those tactics, however, were always going to put them at risk in a single-elimination game.
And they nearly ended up biting the Hornets on Tuesday night. They made just 18 of their 56 3-point attempts, or 32.1 percent, well below their season-long 3-point average of 37.8 percent.
The Heat went to a zone defense in the fourth quarter and Charlotte couldn’t manage to shoot them out of it, knocking down just 4 of 17 from behind the line in the final 12 minutes of regulation. They recovered in overtime but were very close to never even getting that chance.
In the regular season, rookie revelation Kon Knueppel led the league in made 3-pointers with 273, while Ball finished second in the category with 272. On Tuesday night, Knueppel went just 2 for 12 from the field, including 0 for 6 from 3. Ball managed to make an impact, but he made only two of his 16 attempts from behind the 3-point line.
When the Hornets needed a 3 late in the game, Hornets coach Charles Lee chose against putting Knueppel in the game. Coby White bailed them out with a massive 3 to tie the score and force overtime.
But while the Hornets squeaked out a win, it will be interesting to see how Knueppel bounces back Friday night after a brutal performance and getting benched in his first NBA postseason game. — Nehm
Suns can’t close — again
As the regular season came to a close, Phoenix’s biggest issue was obvious: The Suns struggled to finish games.
In that sense, Tuesday’s Play-In loss to Portland was fitting. The Suns built a fourth-quarter lead, but they failed to put the Trail Blazers away. With 3:31 remaining, Jalen Green knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Suns a 105-97 lead. The advantage was not insurmountable, but it was comfortable.
Portland rallied anyway.
The Suns managed just one field goal the rest of the way, and it came in the final minute. Devin Booker hit Jordan Goodwin on the baseline for a reverse layup. Goodwin was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw. Phoenix led by as many as 11 in the second half, on their home court, playing in front of their home fans, and they couldn’t make it stand.
Most notably, Booker didn’t make a field goal in the final quarter, missing all three of his attempts. Now the Suns are on the brink of elimination, facing a win-or-else contest Friday night. — Haller
They are cheering in Chicago
With the Blazers clinching a playoff spot, the biggest winners Tuesday were … the Chicago Bulls, who picked up a first-round pick from Portland to complete a 2021 trade. As part of the three-team trade, the Blazers sent Derrick Jones Jr. to the Bulls, along with a lottery-protected first-round pick (through 2028). The Blazers acquired Larry Nance Jr. from Cleveland, while Chicago moved Lauri Markkanen.
The Blazers, meanwhile, will be left without a first-round pick, but will possibly own Memphis’ second-round pick — acquired from Golden State in the Gary Payton II trade — if it lands between Nos. 43 and 60. — Quick
