It has been a wild night for the Western Conference. The Portland Trail Blazers had a high-scoring battle against the Boston Celtics but ended up losing by four. The Sacramento Kings lost their second successive game to the Orlando Magic and in the big playoff spot decider, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies.

What does this mean for the Spurs? They have now leapfrogged the Blazers temporarily and have taken over the ninth seed. When they arrived in Orlando, they weren’t given a chance by anyone to make the playoffs. But with them sitting in that ninth spot now, they are on pace for the play-in tournament matchup with the eight seed Grizzlies.

Will the San Antonio Spurs defy expectations?

In a game, they weren’t expected to win, the Spurs beat the Grizzlies after two crucial free throws by star DeMar DeRozan. They were up by three points and then gave away a corner three from Grizzlies sophomore Jaren Jackson Jr. But with just one second left on the clock, they got lucky when DeRozan was fouled on his shot. He made no mistake from the line and sealed the win. Dejoute Murray was the star for the Spurs, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as well.

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After their poor season before the hiatus began, no one expected the Spurs to make the playoffs. Gregg Popovich’s playoff streak looked like it would end. But after two wins now in the bubble, the Spurs might just sneak in, to make it Pop’s 23rd consecutive year in the NBA Playoffs.

The Blazers and the Pelicans have been picked by experts as the team that could challenge the Grizzlies for that final playoff spot. The Blazers won their first game but fell in the second. Pelicans, on the other hand, have had back to back defeats.

The Spurs however cannot celebrate too soon. They have six more games to go, and some big clashes against the 76ers, Nuggets and the Rockets. The biggest game could be their clash against the Pelicans on August 9. A win against them could possibly make it a two-man race for the ninth spot. Their next game is against Philly tomorrow and Popovich will be keen to maintain this two-game winning streak.

Sources: NBA, NBA.com