It was a huge night for the 2019-20 NBA season. With Phoenix, San Antonio, Memphis, and Portland all competing for a ticket to the play-in tournament, a win from one of them could have changed the fate of the NBA playoff picture.
After both the Suns and Grizzlies secured wins, it was up to the Blazers to get a victory if they wanted to avoid being sent home.
It was a back-and-forth affair against Brooklyn and, for a while, it was looking like they’d drop the ball. With just minutes to go in the fourth, the Trail Balzers made a couple of key plays down the stretch…
CJ. MCCOLLUM. CLUTCH. https://t.co/rdngqzzpP1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 14, 2020
Good things come to those who hustle @Dame_Lillard | #RipCity pic.twitter.com/wIt0BEsUOB
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) August 14, 2020
They eventually pulled off the win by just one point, cementing their play-in games against Memphis. They also officially eliminated the Suns from playoff contention. The NBA world was ablaze with reactions.
Damian Lillard is the best player in the NBA right now and it isn’t close
— 🐐= #4 (@channel4news_) August 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/LieutenantSlatt/status/1294119500951031813
Dame just wasn’t ready to go home
— mike johnsen ✞ꪑ (@mjohnsen23) August 14, 2020
Suns went 8-0, can’t stres over the things they can’t control
Couldn’t be more proud of this Suns team. ❤️ @Suns
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 14, 2020
The Blazers and Suns also had a heart-warming exchange following the game.
All love between the @trailblazers and @Suns 🙏 pic.twitter.com/rrj5US58cc
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) August 14, 2020
All-in-all it was a fantastic ending to an amazing slate of bubble games. To Phoenix, their fight and play, in the end, was inspiring and shows how bright their future really is.
As for Portland, their mission isn’t over yet. To secure a spot in the actually postseason, they’ll have to beat Memphis at least once in two games. They control their destiny,
It will be interesting to see how they respond.
