The Portland Trail Blazers will not play in the knockout round of the NBA Cup.
But they will play two games against Western Conference opponents not originally included on their schedule..
The NBA on Saturday added matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors to Portland’s December slate, plugging a pair of holes created when the Blazers failed to advance out of NBA Cup West Group C.
The Blazers will visit the Pelicans at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11 and host the Warriors at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14.
The Blazers were in a prime position to advance to the knockout round of the third-annual in-season tournament, needing just one home win against the San Antonio Spurs.
But San Antonio defeated the Blazers 115-102 Wednesday night at the Moda Center, preventing them from moving past the group play stage.
The Spurs went to to earn the No. 1 seed in West Group C with a 139-136 win at the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. They will visit the Los Angeles Lakers in a quarterfinal matchup Dec. 10.