Friday night, bleakness reigned in Rip City. Portland lost a brutal game to the Nuggets, while the other relevant West playoff seeds celebrated wins. Even worse, Portland faced that same Denver team two days later. But when the Nuggets decided to rest their stars, Sunday offered a small window for the Blazers, and they leapt through, followed by a little help from an old rival.
Rockets 149, Suns 113
Blazers 115, Nuggets 108
Jazz 109, Lakers 113
Thanks to Denver’s loss to Portland, the 2-4 seeds are quite close.