Blazers Clinch Another Playoff Spot

Portland clinched its 16th consecutive playoff berth as Arvydas Sabonis had 24 points and eight rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers over the visiting Vancouver Grizzlies 108-102 Thursday night.

The Trail Blazers, who stopped a three-game skid, have the longest current postseason streak in the NBA.

The game marked the return of Portland’s Damon Stoudamire, who had missed the previous 10 games with a sprained right ankle.

The loss wasted a 31-point performance by Bryant Reeves. Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 19 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost 23 of their last 26.

Shawn Kemp scored 19 points and Marcus Camby missed a last-second putback as Cleveland boosted its playoff hopes with a 97-96 victory over Toronto.

With Toronto leading 96-95 and 17.5 seconds left, Camby’s in-bounds pass was intercepted by Wesley Person, who passed to Derek Anderson. The Raptors fouled Anderson, who made both free throws.

At Charlotte, Glen Rice scored eight straight points as part of a 12-0 run by Charlotte to open the fourth quarter as the Hornets beat Milwaukee 94-80.

Spat costs Polynice

The Sacramento Kings fined reserve center Olden Polynice and put him on a two-day suspension for engaging in a heated argument with coach Eddie Jordan on Wednesday.

Witnesses said Polynice and Jordan argued during a second-quarter timeout. The Sacramento Bee quoted observers in the huddle as saying Polynice spat on the floor near Jordan.

Polynice will miss home games against Portland and Minnesota. The team did not say how much Polynice was fined.