Avdija’s 41 sparks Blazers

Deni Avdija scored 41 points Tuesday night and sent Portland past Phoenix 114-110, putting the Trail Blazers into the Western Conference playoffs. (nba.com, apnews.com) The win in Phoenix clinched the No. 7 seed for Portland in the West and ended the franchise’s postseason drought since 2021. Avdija added 12 assists and seven rebounds in his first postseason game. (espn.com, sports.yahoo.com) Portland trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter before closing the game behind Avdija’s go-ahead three-point play with 16.1 seconds left. Phoenix entered the night as the No. 7 team and finished the regular season 45-37, three games ahead of Portland’s 42-40 mark. (espn.com, basketball-reference.com) The play-in tournament gives the teams that finish seventh through 10th one extra path into the bracket, and the No. 7 versus No. 8 game sends the winner straight into the playoffs. Portland used that single game to jump from the edge of the field into a first-round series with San Antonio. (nba.com, sports.yahoo.com) That matchup matters for Portland because Avdija’s scoring night came on a roster better known this season for balance than for one player taking over. Portland’s official roster includes Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, but Avdija was the player with the ball when the season was on the line. (nba.com, sportsnet.ca) Avdija was already coming off a regular season that made him a first-time All-Star, and Tuesday gave Portland a postseason version of that same rise. Yahoo Sports described him as a first-time All-Star after the game, and the Associated Press called the outing his initial postseason appearance. (sports.yahoo.com, apnews.com) Phoenix still has another chance to reach the bracket under the play-in format, while Portland moves on immediately. The Trail Blazers now open the first round against the No. 2 seed Spurs after Avdija turned one night in Phoenix into their clearest postseason answer yet. (nba.com, espn.com)