Avdija drops 41

Deni Avdija scored 41 points Tuesday night, and Portland beat Phoenix 114-110 to claim the Western Conference’s No. 7 playoff seed. (apnews.com) Avdija’s biggest play came with 16.1 seconds left, when he converted a go-ahead three-point play after Portland erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit in Phoenix. (nba.com, apnews.com) Yahoo Sports’ live recap listed Avdija at 41 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds, and said Portland’s win set up a first-round series against the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs. (sports.yahoo.com) The National Basketball Association’s play-in format gives the teams that finish seventh and eighth in each conference two chances to reach the playoffs. By winning the 7-versus-8 game, Portland advanced immediately and avoided an elimination game later this week. (nba.com) Phoenix did not drop out of the postseason picture with the loss. Yahoo Sports said the Suns stayed alive and moved on to face the winner of the other Western Conference play-in game for the No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup with Oklahoma City. (sports.yahoo.com) The Athletic described Portland’s result as an outlasting road win, a notable finish for a team that had to close the game in a hostile arena after trailing late. ESPN’s game summary also listed the final as 114-110 in Phoenix on April 14. (nytimes.com, espn.com) For Portland, the result ended a four-year playoff drought, according to Reuters coverage picked up by GMA News and OregonLive’s recap. Avdija’s 41 points matched his season high, according to IndyStar’s game tracker. (gmanetwork.com, oregonlive.com, indystar.com) Portland now gets the cleaner path that comes with winning on the first night of the play-in. The opener was Avdija’s night, and the closer was the same: one late and-one, one 41-point line, and one playoff berth. (sports.yahoo.com, apnews.com)