The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 134-133, on Friday at Orlando.

The Blazers (35-39) started their regular-season finale with their backs against the wall, as they already knew they needed to win to secure a play-in berth against the Memphis Grizzlies following Thursday's earlier results. The Nets (35-37) gave the Blazers a good run for their money, though. Portland looked like the better team during the first two quarters, but the Nets would storm back and take the lead for most of the second half. Portland established a reaction in the final minutes and only secured a two-possession lead with less than 55 seconds on the clock after C.J. McCollum drained a mid-range jumper from the free-throw line. Carmelo Anthony missed a wide-open three and Caris LeVert had the chance to win it for the Nets, but his shot over McCollum bounced off the rim. The Blazers, who notched a third straight win, secured a spot in the Western Conference play-in round and will play against the Memphis Grizzlies to determine which team will be the eighth seed of the Conference.

Damian Lillard was Portland's hero once again and finished with 42 points, 12 assists and three rebounds. C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic provided excellent support for the star point guard, however, as McCollum notched 25 points and seven assists while Nurkic contributed 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Hassan Whiteside came off the bench and posted 16 points with nine boards in only 16 minutes.

Caris LeVert couldn't hit the game-winning shot for Brooklyn but still stood out, as he ended with 37 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot contributed 19 points and eight rebounds, while Joe Harris chipped in with 19 points, four dimes and three boards. Garrett Temple (15 points, 10 boards) and Jarrett Allen (14 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles for Brooklyn despite the loss.