PHOENIX — Deni Avdija confirmed he has a bit little bit of the clutch gene in his preliminary foray into postseason basketball.
The first-time All-Star adopted a breakout common season with a unbelievable all-around efficiency in Tuesday’s NBA play-in match, scoring 41 factors to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over the Phoenix Suns for a 114-110 win to clinch the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Blazers are again in the playoffs for the primary time since 2021 after clawing again from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. They’ll face the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs in the primary spherical.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career so far,” Avdija mentioned.
The Suns will host the winner of Wednesday’s LA Clippers-(*7*) sport Friday. Whichever crew wins Friday’s matchup will earn the No. 8 seed and face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs; the loser’s season will likely be over.
Avdija, 25, had by no means performed in the NBA’s postseason till Tuesday, toiling for greater than 5 years on mediocre groups in Washington and Portland, however he seemed snug on the larger stage. He had the profitable three-point play with 16.1 seconds left, scoring on a bodily take to the rim whereas being fouled after which changing a free throw.
Avdija grew to become the fifth participant to rating 40 or extra factors in a play-in sport, becoming a member of Jayson Tatum for the Boston Celtics in 2021 (50), Coby White for the Chicago Bulls in 2024 (42), Anthony Davis for the Dallas Mavericks in 2025 (40) and Zion Williamson for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2024 (40).
Blazers guard Jrue Holiday, a two-time NBA champion with Milwaukee and Boston, mentioned he was impressed with Avdija’s composure. Avdija shot 15-of-22 from the sphere and added 12 assists and 7 rebounds.
Holiday mentioned the most effective a part of Avdija’s efficiency was it was “kind of an off night.”
“I feel like he’s unique. Nobody does what he does,” Holiday mentioned. “Deni coming out here, carrying us, especially down the stretch, getting that winning bucket and being able to go home knowing we’re playing San Antonio is something you love to see in Deni because this is what we expect from him now.”
Avdija and the remainder of the younger Blazers stored their cool throughout a bodily sport that featured loads of laborious fouls. Holiday completed with 21 factors and Jerami Grant returned from a calf damage to rating 16.
“I think back to the beginning of the season, we weren’t very disciplined at staying together and finishing games,” Avdija mentioned. “I feel like we showed character today. We showed growth, we showed character, we showed we were capable of keeping our composure and making winning plays.”
Blazers coach Tiago Splitter agreed that Avdija did not have his finest evening regardless of the large numbers. He mentioned the 6-foot-8 ahead’s subsequent check will likely be going through a Spurs crew that may throw completely different seems to be at him on protection in a playoff collection.
If Tuesday evening was any indication, he’ll be simply high-quality.
“He just kept going, kept believing in himself,” Splitter mentioned. “Scored a couple buckets at the end there. A little bit of what he did the whole season, played 38 minutes, had the ball a lot and decided the game.”
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
