The Portland Trail Blazers punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs tonight with a hard-fought 114-110 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Deni Avdija led the way with 41 points, Jalen Green paced the Suns with 35.
Player of the Game
Deni Avdija carried a lot of weight in this game. He scored 41 points in 38 high-octane minutes, shooting 15 for 22 from the field, 3 for 8 from three and 8 for 13 from the charity stripe. Along the way, he picked up 7 rebounds and 12 assists. Plus, he converted a pivotal three-point play with
16.1 seconds left to finish the job.
Stat of the Night
The Blazers were as close to full strength as they have been all season and it showed. The bench was Portland’s ace in the hole: Portland 33, Phoenix 17. The leaders were Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant, both recently removed from the injury list. Shaedon contributed 12 points and Jerami 16, many of them in crunch time.
What We Noticed
According to an old Hawaiian proverb, it’s tough to outrun a tsunami. The Blazers were a case in point at times tonight, coming at the Suns in waves. Every time you blinked, someone else was making a key play. It might be Kris Murray digging out an offensive rebound and feeding a teammate for a three. Or Scoot Henderson sinking a corner three an instant before the 24-second clock ran out. Or Jerami Grant hitting his millionth corner three. Or Deni Avdija just being Deni Avdija. The Blazers were down by two at the end of the first quarter, but with 5:22 left in the second, the score was 55-41 in their favor. Unfortunately, the Suns didn’t set at that point. They were only down 65-62 at halftime and had all the momentum in the world.
The third quarter was a slugfest and much of the final frame belonged to the Suns. The physicality of Dillon Brooks and the shotmaking of Jalen Green took a toll, but the Blazers bounced back at the end to rally for a nail-biting win.
Up Next
The Blazers are headed for the first round of the NBA Playoffs! It all starts Sunday in San Antonio versus the Spurs. The game tips off at 6 p.m. Pacific.
