The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 136-125 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, rising back to fifth in the Western Conference.

Though the Trail Blazers sent nearly the players on the end of their bench to Saturday's competition, they conquered the Clippers from the very beginning by limiting the home team to shooting 9-for-23 from the field, including going 0-for-7 behind the arc, in the first quarter. Having led 33-26 in the first period, the Trail Blazers managed to match the opponents in firepower when the Clippers began to heat up in the second quarter, keeping a six-point lead (70-64) after the first half.

Kevin Knox II, Shaedon Sharpe and Trendon Watford combined to shoot 30-for-50 in field goals (FGs) and scored 80 points collectively for the Trail Blazers on Saturday. Shaquille Harrison even had a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists in addition to four steals off the bench. He and Skylar Mays, who delivered nine assists, ran the team's offense in such a smooth way that they shot 52.8 percent from the field with 32 assists and only 10 turnovers.

The Clippers, which hadn't clinched an automatic playoff berth before Saturday's game, couldn't afford to lose to the Trail Blazers at home. Fortunately for them, Kawhi Leonard stood out to save the day by scoring 13 points in the third quarter, leading the team to rally 45-26 in this period alone.

Russell Westbrook joined Leonard in the third quarter to carry the Clippers' offense with seven points and five assists. Though both didn't play in the fourth period, the team had Norman Powell to count on as he contributed 14 points for the Clippers to finish their final home game of the season with a win.

As all 30 teams have one more game to play on Sunday, the Clippers currently share the same record with the Golden State Warriors at 43-38. Both are one game above the seventh Los Angeles Lakers and the eighth Minnesota Timberwolves. The Clippers hold the tiebreakers over both the Warriors and the Lakers, but not the Pelicans. They will visit the Footprint Center to play the Phoenix Suns in their final game. Winning will make their best way to skip the play-in tournament, even if it means the Clippers will have to face the Suns and Kevin Durant in the first round of the playoffs.

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

Denver Nuggets 114-118 Utah Jazz

Coach Michael Malone had some confusing rotations against the Jazz at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday. On one hand, he started all five of their best players, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. However, none of them played in the fourth quarter during which the Nuggets were outscored by the opponents 29-19. As a result, they blew a six-point lead (95-89) and lost the game.

The Nuggets will play the Sacramento Kings in their final game at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday. The result won't matter to either side, so both teams can rest their regular rosters before the more important competitions begin in the postseason.

Minnesota Timberwolves 151-131 San Antonio Spurs

The Timberwolves set a new record of scoring in one single regular season game after seven of their players scored double digit points at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mike Conley combined to drop 75 points while Towns delivered eight assists as well.

The Timberwolves are 41-40 and ninth in the West after Saturday's win. They will begin their postseason from the play-in tournament for sure, but fighting for the room to lose one game instead of having to claim two straight wins still matters to the team. They are one game behind the seventh Lakers and the eighth Pelicans while holding the tiebreaker over the Lakers. The Timberwolves will play the Pelicans at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday. If they win, the will rewrite their record 2-1 against the Pelicans to finish the regular season as the eighth in the West.