Deni Avdija helped Portland (43-40 straight up, 45-38 against the spread) erase an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter of last night’s 114-110 win at Phoenix as a 2.5-point road underdog. The 224 combined points went ‘over’ the 215.5-point total.
The 25-year-old Avdija dominated with 41 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. He hit 15-of-22 field-goal attempts, 3-of-8 treys and 8-of-13 free throws.
The win locked the Trail Blazers into the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed, setting up a first-round series against second-seeded San Antonio.
With Portland trailing 110-109, there were 22 seconds remaining when Avdija waived off his teammates to indicate that he wanted to take his man off the dribble from deep beyond the top of the key. From there, he drove to his right, hesitated and went between his legs three times before exploding to his right off the bounce.
As Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks came to help, Avdija avoided him and made a layup and got fouled with 16.1 ticks left. He made the free throw to give his club a two-point lead.
At the other end, the Suns’ Jalen Green missed a 3-pointer. Jordan Goodwin snagged the offensive rebound, but then he got stripped. Portland’s Jerami Grant grabbed the loose ball, was fouled and buried two free throws to secure the win.
Grant finished with 16 points in 19 minutes of playing time off the bench. Jrue Holiday added 21 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Shaedon Sharpe was also in double figures with 12 points.
In defeat, Green scored a team-high 35 points for the Suns. Devin Booker had 22 points and four assists, but he missed five free throws. Brooks had 20 points, seven boards and four steals.
Phoenix will try to clinch the No. 8 seed in the West when it hosts tonight’s winner of Golden State at the L.A. Clippers on Friday.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, most books had the Spurs installed as 10.5 or 11-point home favorites vs. Portland in Sunday’s curtain jerker of a seven-game series. The total was 222.5 points, while the Trail Blazers were +400 on the money line.
Portland is looking like it pulled off one of the NBA’s biggest heists in years when it fleeced the Wizards in a trade to acquire Avdija. The Trail Blazers gave up Malcolm Brogdon, the No. 14 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington), a 2029 first-round pick (second-most favorable of the three options Portland holds – its own, Boston’s and Milwaukee’s) and second-round selections in the 2028 and 2030 NBA Draft.
Brogdon, who is now retired, averaged 12.7 points per game while starting 13 times in 24 appearances for Washington during the 2024-25 campaign. In two seasons with the Wizards, Carrington has played in all 164 games, starting 105 times and averaging 10.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.
On the flip side, Avdija averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 APG during the regular season. In a 115-110 win at San Antonio on Jan. 3, he recorded a triple-double (29-10-10) to lead his team to victory as an eight-point road underdog.
When Portland hosted the Spurs on Nov. 26, it dropped a 115-102 decision as a one-point home favorite. Avdija had 37 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the losing effort.
In a 112-101 loss at San Antonio on April 8, Avdija finished with 29 points, six assists and six boards.
FanDuel has already released its player props for Game 1. Avdija has -104 odds to score 25+ points and +260 odds to produce 30+ points. He has +164 odds to dish out 8+ assists.
PREDICTIONS: Let’s risk 1.04 units to win 1 unit on Avdija to score 25 points or more (it’s a push if he scores 25), and let’s also risk 0.5 units to win 0.82 units on Avdija to have eight assists or more.