Avdija’s 41‑point night

Deni Avdija put Portland into the playoffs on Tuesday night, carrying the Trail Blazers past Phoenix 114-110 in the Western Conference play-in game. (apnews.com) Avdija finished with 41 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds on 15-of-22 shooting in Phoenix, and the go-ahead three-point play came with 16.1 seconds left. (nba.com; apnews.com) Portland erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and closed on a 25-10 run to take the West’s No. 7 seed. Phoenix had entered the night as the conference’s No. 7 team at 45-37, with Portland at 42-40. (apnews.com; nba.com) The result moved Portland out of the play-in bracket and into a first-round series against the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs. The National Basketball Association’s official postseason calendar lists the first round as starting on April 18, 2026. (sports.yahoo.com; nba.com) For Avdija, the game fit a season that had already changed his standing in the league. ESPN lists him at 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in 2025-26, all well above his earlier career numbers. (espn.com) Portland acquired Avdija from Washington on July 6, 2024, in a deal that sent Malcolm Brogdon, the rights to the No. 14 pick in the 2024 draft, a 2029 first-round pick and two second-round picks to the Wizards. (nba.com) That trade looked expensive at the time for a player who had averaged 14.7 points in his final season with Washington. Two seasons later, Portland is in the bracket and Avdija is the reason Tuesday’s game swung. (espn.com; apnews.com) The play-in format turned one night in Phoenix into a direct path to the postseason, and Avdija answered with the biggest scoring game of his National Basketball Association career. Portland’s next game is no longer about qualifying; it is Game 1. (nba.com; nba.com; espn.com)