Blazers beat Grizzlies in playoff play-in
A fourth consecutive down-to-thewire finish, a fourth consecutive win for the Trail Blazers.
They needed all that just to get into the playoffs.
Damian Lillard scored 31 points, CJ McCollum had 14 of his 29 in the fourth quarter — including a pair of big jumpers over Ja Morant late — and the Blazers clinched the NBA’s final playoff spot by beating the Grizzlies 126-122 on Saturday.
The Blazers’ reward: a matchup with the top-seeded Lakers, starting Tuesday. Jusuf Nurkic had 22 points and 21 rebounds for the winners, who got 21 points from Carmelo Anthony.
Morant scored 35 for the Grizzlies, which got a 22-point, 16-rebound day from Jonas Valanciunas.
The Pelicans fired coach Alvin Gentry after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. ... Lillard was unanimously selected as the top player of the NBA’s seeding games at Walt Disney World, after averaging a league-best 37.6 points in the eight games. The Suns’ Monty Williams, who led the Suns to a perfect 8-0 record in the bubble, was chosen as the top coach of the seeding-game schedule. ... A day after Vlade Divac stepped down as Kings GM, Peja Stojakovic resigned as assistant GM.
Auto racing: NASCAR driver Austin Dillon tested positive for COVID-19 and will not compete in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway’s road course. Richard Childress Racing said Dillon tested positive Saturday morning. Kaz Grala will drive the No. 3 Chevrolet at Daytona on Sunday. ... Austin Cindric won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the road course at Daytona International Speedway, his fifth victory in the last six events. ... Marco Andretti posted a four-lap average of 231.351 mph to lead a top speed sweep for Andretti Autosport in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 as Honda-powered teams claimed the first four spots on the leaderboard and eight of the top nine.
College football: Nine Oklahoma players tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a break in preseason camp. Coach Lincoln Riley made the announcement during a Zoom call.
Golf: Jerry Kelly bogeyed two of the last four holes for another even-par 70 on Firestone’s challenging South Course, leaving him with a one-stroke lead over Woody Austin, Scott Parel and Colin Montgomerie in the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship in Akron, Ohio. ... Azahara Munoz birdied the 18th hole to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the Ladies Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland. The Spaniard shot a 2-under 69 for a 7-under 206 total, just ahead of American Stacy Lewis (70).
NFL: The Packers signed DT Kenny Clark to a contract extension without disclosing the terms of the deal. Clark’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, confirmed an ESPN report that the 2016 first-round pick from UCLA agreed to terms on a deal worth $70 million, with a $25 million signing bonus.
Soccer: Lyon advanced to its first