Avdija explodes: 41 points

Deni Avdija dragged Portland into the playoffs on Tuesday night, scoring 41 points in a 114-110 road win over Phoenix in the Western Conference play-in. (espn.com) The Trail Blazers erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit in Phoenix and took the lead for good on Avdija’s three-point play with 16.1 seconds left. (espn.com) Avdija finished 15-for-22 from the field with 12 assists and seven rebounds in 38 minutes, while Jrue Holiday added 21 points and Jerami Grant scored 16 off the bench in his return from a calf injury. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) Phoenix got 35 points from Jalen Green, 22 from Devin Booker and 20 from Dillon Brooks, but the Suns were outscored 31-28 in the fourth quarter and lost the No. 7 seed. (espn.com) The win sends Portland into the first round against the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs and gives the franchise its first playoff berth since 2021. Phoenix stays alive, but only through Friday’s elimination game for the No. 8 seed. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com) That made Avdija’s night bigger than a hot shooting game. Portland entered as the No. 8 team at 42-40, won on the road against a 45-37 Phoenix team, and flipped the bracket in one game. (espn.com) It was also Avdija’s first National Basketball Association postseason game after more than five seasons with Washington and Portland. ESPN reported he became the fifth player to score 40 or more points in a play-in game. (espn.com) The box score shows how much of Portland’s offense ran through him: he led the team in points and assists, and his 12 assists were more than half of Scoot Henderson’s and Holiday’s combined total of eight. (espn.com) Portland had led for 24 minutes, 38 seconds and Phoenix for 23 minutes, 7 seconds, with seven lead changes before the final swing. Avdija scored 14 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter. (basketball-reference.com) By the end, the play-in game turned on one possession and one player. Avdija got the and-one, Portland got the No. 7 seed, and Phoenix was left with one more chance to save its season. (espn.com)