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The Trail Blazers take on a New Orleans Pelicans at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Moda Center.

(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

The Trail Blazers didn't grab their opportunity to clinch a Western Conference playoff berth Friday when they

. They would have clinched with a win regardless of any other result.

When's the next time they can clinch their first postseason berth since 2011? Even coach Terry Stotts wasn't sure, telling media members at practice Saturday that he didn't think that could happen Sunday.

Turns out, though, that Portland can indeed clinch today, but it will need more than just a win over

for a 6 p.m. matchup.

Here's the official scenario from the NBA's daily playoff update:

If the Blazers (49-28) win tonight, the most number of losses they can finish with is 32.

Among the three teams battling for the final two playoff spots, Dallas (46-31), Memphis (45-31) and Phoenix (45-31) each have to play once against the other two teams. That means if just one of these teams loses tonight, it will not be able to finish with less than 33 losses.

So in addition to the Blazers-Pelicans matchup, here are games today that affect the Blazers:

Dallas (46-31) at Sacramento (27-49), 3 p.m.:

The Mavericks have won five road games in a row, and Dirk Nowitzki is red-hot, averaging 28.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in his last three games. The Kings are coming off a 33-point loss at Golden State on Friday and have just three healthy guards.

Memphis (45-31) at San Antonio (59-17), 4 p.m.:

The Grizzlies have floundered a bit recently, losing three of their last five games, and they will be without starting small forward Tayshaun Prince, who suffered a sprained left ankle against Denver on Friday. The Spurs are coming off a loss to Oklahoma City that ended their 19-game winning streak, and although they are 3.5 games ahead of the Thunder, still don't have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs clinched.



Oklahoma City (55-20) at Phoenix (45-31), 6 p.m.:

The Suns had lost two in a row before their big win in Portland. Phoenix beat OKC 128-122 exactly one month ago today. The Thunder are coming off a loss to Houston in which it rested point guard Russell Westbrook, who has been taking the second game of back-to-backs off. Westbrook is expected to play tonight, but OKC will be without starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha (left calf strain).

-- Mike Tokito