PHOENIX (AP) — Deni Avdija showed he’s got a little bit of the clutch gene in his initial foray into postseason basketball.
The first-time All-Star followed a breakout regular season with a fantastic all-around performance in Tuesday’s NBA play-in tournament, scoring 41 points 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 back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021 after clawing back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. They’ll face the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career so far,” Avdija said.
The 25-year-old Avdija had never played in the NBA’s postseason until Tuesday — toiling for more than five years on mediocre teams in Washington and Portland — but looked comfortable on the bigger stage. He had the winning three-point play with 16.1 seconds left, scoring on a physical take to the rim while being fouled and then converting the free throw.
Blazers guard Jrue Holiday — a two-time NBA champion with Milwaukee and Boston — was impressed with Avdija’s composure. He shot 15 of 22 from the field while adding 12 assists and seven rebounds.
Holiday said the best part of Avdija’s performance was it was “kind of an off night.”
“I feel like he’s unique. Nobody does what he does,” Holiday said. “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 rest of the young Blazers kept their cool during a physical game that featured plenty of hard fouls. Holiday finished with 21 points and Jerami Grant returned from a calf injury to score 16.
“I think back to the beginning of the season, we weren’t very disciplined at staying together and finishing games,” Avdija said. “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 didn’t have his best night despite the big numbers. He said the 6-foot-8 forward’s next test will be facing a Spurs team that will throw different looks at him on defense in a playoff series.
If Tuesday night was any indication, he’ll be just fine.
“He just kept going, kept believing in himself,” Splitter said. “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.”
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