Avdija lifts Trail Blazers
Deni Avdija erupted for 35 points and 5 assists to push the Trail Blazers up the standings and help them climb to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. (x.com) That kind of late‑season scoring spike can be the difference between play‑in positioning and missing postseason leverage entirely. (x.com)
Portland walked into Friday night ninth in the Western Conference and walked out 41-40, tied in wins with the Los Angeles Clippers after a 116-97 blowout at home. Deni Avdija put up 35 points and 5 assists, and ESPN’s recap said the win gave Portland the inside track to the No. 8 seed. (espn.com) That jump matters because the National Basketball Association play-in tournament treats seventh and eighth differently from ninth and tenth. The league’s 2026 playoff page says the No. 7 and No. 8 teams get two chances to win one game, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams face immediate elimination if they lose. (nba.com) The standings were still moving on April 10, but the shape was clear: Phoenix sat seventh at 44-36, the Clippers were eighth at 41-39 before losing in Portland, and the Trail Blazers were ninth at 40-40 before tipoff. After Portland’s win and the Clippers’ loss, the race tightened with one regular-season day left on April 12. (espn.com, nba.com) Avdija’s night was not a quiet 35. The game summary shows Portland led 33-24 after one quarter, stayed in front 61-51 at halftime, and then crushed Los Angeles 30-13 in the fourth, which is when a close seeding game turns into a statement. (espn.com) He had help inside. Donovan Clingan finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, giving Portland a second scorer and a rim presence that kept the Clippers from turning Avdija’s hot hand into a one-man show. (espn.com) The opponent made the result heavier. Los Angeles came in 41-40 after the loss, so Portland was not beating a lottery team for style points; it was beating the exact team sitting in the seed it wanted. (espn.com, espn.com) The calendar made it even sharper. The official schedule showed every team had one regular-season game left on Sunday, April 12, and Portland’s finale was against Sacramento while the Clippers closed against Golden State. (nba.com) That means Avdija’s 35 did more than pad a box score. It turned Portland’s last game from a long-shot chase into a live race for the safer side of the play-in bracket, where one bad night does not automatically end your season. (nba.com, espn.com)
