The Portland Trail Blazers‘ once improbable run at earning a Western Conference play-in beth received a huge boost with the news that Dallas star point guard Kyrie Irving’s season has come to an end.

The Mavericks guard suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during Monday’s 122-98 loss at Sacramento, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The 12th-place Blazers (28-34) trail 11th-place Phoenix (28-33) by a half-game and 10th-place Dallas by four games.

The Mavericks, reeling from injuries to centers Anthony Davis (left adductor injury) and Daniel Gafford (knee), have lost four out of five games.

Davis was acquired in the blockbuster deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Davis and Gafford are expected to return, but the Mavericks have become vulnerable without Irving running the show.

The Suns are quite catchable. They have lost 11 of 14, starting with two losses in Portland on Feb. 1 and Feb. 3.

The Blazers had previously been more likely to have a chance at catching the Kings before the Mavericks’ slide began.

But Sacramento has been thriving, winning seven of their last nine games.

Toumani Camara #33 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket against Ricky Council IV #14 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half at the Wells Fargo Center on March 03, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)Getty Images

Looking further up the standings, the Blazers sit not too far out of sixth, which receives an automatic playoff berth.

However, sixth-place Golden State (33-28) has won eight out of 10 with the thriving combination of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.

The Blazers play at the Warriors on Monday night.

The Kings, Minnesota (33-29) and LA Clippers (32-28) are in a three-way tie for seventh and lead the Blazers by five games with 20 to go.

A real challenge facing the Blazers is defeating winning teams with a tough remaining schedule. The Blazers last picked a win over a team that currently has a winning record on Feb. 6 against Sacramento.

The Blazers have won four out of their last five. However, three wins came against Charlotte (16-46), Utah (15-46) and Washington (11-49), the three worst teams in the NBA. The other two came against Brooklyn (21-39) and Monday at Philadelphia (21-39).

The Blazers came close to winning Sunday at Cleveland (50-10), which has the best record in the NBA. But the Cavaliers sat their best player, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and still won 133-129 in overtime.

The Blazers close out their seven-game trip with games Wednesday at Boston (43-18) and Friday at Oklahoma City (50-11).

They then return home for eight of nine games and will host Detroit (35-27), New York (40-20), Memphis (38-23), Denver (39-22), Boston and Cleveland.

Nevertheless, the Blazers’ margin for error has likely been lessened by Dallas’ misfortune.

— Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)