Community Picks: New Orleans 0% vs Portland 0%

In an interview with ESPN earlier this week, standout Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell said he really didn’t care about the Rookie of the Year race that’s come down to him and the 76ers’ Ben Simmons. “I don't care." But then on Tuesday, before a game with the Warriors, Mitchell arrived at the arena wearing a hoodie printed with the dictionary definition of “rookie.” The next day he arrived to a game against the Portland Trailblazers in another hoodie that read “Rookie?” Mitchell says he doesn’t care about the award, but his clothes certainly seem like they do. Mitchell’s hoodies both reference what he seems to think disqualifies Simmons for the ROY award. Continue to Article

April 13, 2018 10:07:am EST

The Trail Blazers already knew their opponent for the first round playoffs, and they had already locked up home-court advantage. Damian Lillard had 36 points and 10 assists and the Blazers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 102-93 victory over the Jazz Wednesday night to earn the Northwest Division title. With the win in the regular-season finale, Portland claimed the third seed in the Western Conference and will play the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the opening round. Continue to Article

April 12, 2018 2:19:am EST

Damian Lillard scored 36 points and dished out 10 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers tripped up the Utah Jazz 102-93 in the regular-season finale for both teams Wednesday night at Moda Center. The victory allowed Portland (49-33) to edge Utah (48-34) for the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Blazers will open the postseason against the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, while the Jazz fell to the fifth seed, and they will oppose the fourth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Continue to Article

April 12, 2018 1:11:am EST

The brackets for the NBA playoffs are set, with all eight first-round matchups decided on the very last night of the regular season. Portland beat Utah in the final game on the schedule. The Trail Blazers earned the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 New Orleans, while Oklahoma City climbed into the No. 4 spot and will take on the fifth-seeded Jazz. No. 1 Houston plays No. 8 Minnesota in another West quarterfinal, and defending NBA champion Golden State — the No. 2 seed in the West — meets No. 7 San Antonio. In the East, No. 1 Toronto will play No. 8 Washington, No. 2 Boston meets No. 7 Milwaukee, No. 3 Philadelphia faces No. 6 Miami and No. 4 Cleveland opens against No. 5 Indiana. Continue to Article

April 12, 2018 1:08:am EST

Rudy Gay scored 18 points off the bench, and Manu Ginobili added 17 as the San Antonio Spurs bumbled and stumbled through the first three and a half quarters but found a way to defeat the Sacramento Kings 98-85 on Monday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Ginobili had eight points and Gay hit for a five in a decisive four-minute, fourth-quarter run by the Spurs that turned a 77-76 deficit into a runaway 94-85 advantage with 2:40 to play. The win allowed the Spurs (47-34) to clinch a spot in the postseason for the 21st consecutive campaign, continuing the league's longest active streak and tying the Portland Trail Blazers (1983-2003) for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Continue to Article

April 09, 2018 11:11:pm EST