{"id":6075,"date":"2026-04-15T08:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/avdija-scores-41-as-trail-blazers-upset-suns-in-nba-west-play-in\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T08:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:36:07","slug":"avdija-scores-41-as-trail-blazers-upset-suns-in-nba-west-play-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/avdija-scores-41-as-trail-blazers-upset-suns-in-nba-west-play-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Avdija scores 41 as Trail Blazers upset Suns in NBA West play-in"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Deni Avdija scored 41 points, and his \u200cthree-point play with 16.1 seconds remaining capped the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 comeback from an \u206011-point fourth- quarter deficit \u2060for a 114-110 victory over the host Phoenix Suns in a National Basketball Association (NBA) play-in game on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The Trail Blazers ended a four-year playoff drought and will open a best-of- seven \u2060Western Conference playoff series against the No 2 seed San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/14\/atletico-edge-barcelona-on-aggregate-to-reach-champions-league-semifinal\">Atletico edge Barcelona on aggregate to reach Champions League semifinal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/14\/bayern-munich-vs-real-madrid-uefa-champions-league-teams-start-lineups\">Real Madrid\u2019s season on the line as they visit Bayern Munich \u2013 all to know<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/14\/fifa-faces-pressure-to-call-on-trump-to-stop-ice-raids-at-2026-world-cup\">FIFA faces pressure to call on Trump to stop ICE raids at 2026 World Cup<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2026\/4\/15\/new-trial-begins-over-football-legend-maradonas-death\">New trial begins over football legend Maradona\u2019s death<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The Suns will have another chance to make the playoffs on Friday, when they will host the winner of \u2060the Wednesday play-in game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n<p>The winner of the Friday contest will be the No 8 seed and will meet the defending league champion and No 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the first game of a seven-game set on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan Goodwin \u200csank a reserve layup with 32.5 seconds left to put the Suns up 110-109, but he missed a free throw after being fouled on the play. The Blazers rebounded and called a timeout to set up Avdija\u2019s drive through the lane.<\/p>\n<p>Phoenix\u2019s Jalen Green missed a 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining. On the rebound, Portland\u2019s Matisse Thybulle stole the ball from Goodwin and found Jerami Grant alone for a dunk with six-tenths of a second remaining.<\/p>\n<p>Avdija had 14 \u2060points in the fourth quarter, and he finished with 12 \u2060assists and seven rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>Jrue Holiday added 21 points and Grant had 16, including two late 3-pointers as the Blazers finished the game on a 17-5 run.<\/p>\n<p>Green scored 35 points, Devin Booker had 22 and Dillon Brooks added 20 for \u2060the Suns.<\/p>\n<p>The Suns trailed 83-82 entering the fourth quarter but scored the first 11 points for a 10-point edge, extending a longer 24-4 run \u2060that began after Avdija made a layup to give the Blazers \u2060a 79-69 lead midway through the third quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Holiday and Avdija hit 3-pointers as the Blazers closed the deficit to 100-97 with 4:15 left, before Donovan Clingan was called for a flagrant-1 foul for pulling Brooks down on Avdija\u2019s make.<\/p>\n<p>Grant made a \u200c3-pointer, and Shaedon Sharpe hit two free throws with 2:29 left, bringing the Trail Blazers within 105-104 with 2:29 left.<\/p>\n<p>Grant\u2019s next trey put the Blazers in front 107-106 before Booker\u2019s \u200cfree \u200cthrows gave the Suns a 108-107 lead with 1:34 to go. After a Portland turnover and a Booker miss, Avdija hit a driving lap for a 109-108 lead, with 37.3 seconds remaining before Goodwin\u2019s layup.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4493445\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4493445\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-15T040950Z_843288238_MT1USATODAY28731253_RTRMADP_3_NBA-PLAYOFFS-PORTLAND-TRAIL-BLAZERS-AT-PHOENIX-SUNS-1776230526.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C565&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Deni Avdija in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4493445\">Avdija, left, shot 15-for-22 from the field in his 41-point performance along with 12 assists and seven rebounds [Mark J. Rebilas\/Imagn Images via Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"ball-lifts-hornets-against-heat-in-elimination-play-in\">Ball lifts Hornets against Heat in elimination play-in<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier on Tuesday, LaMelo Ball hit a go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds \u200cleft, and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell\u2019s shot at the buzzer, as the Charlotte Hornets beat the visiting Miami Heat 127-126 \u2060in overtime to \u2060advance in the play-in tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Ball scored 30 points and Bridges added 28 for ninth-place Charlotte, which forced overtime when Coby White made one of his five 3-pointers with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been huge since he got \u2060here,\u201d Hornets coach Charles Lee said of White. \u201cHe showed who he is again tonight in a big moment, in a win-or-go-home game. He didn\u2019t have a great first half, but he continued to stick with it and came up with big plays down \u2060the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brandon Miller had 23 points for the Hornets and White finished with 19. Moussa Diabate added eight points and 14 rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday\u2019s matchup between the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers and the eighth-place Orlando Magic on Friday for a chance to meet the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just shows the character of the team at the end \u200cof the day,\u201d Lee said. \u201cExecution is not always going to be perfect, but these guys find a way to stick with it \u2026 And that winning effort and competitiveness and togetherness to come up with a big-time block at the end of the game just shows who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell led 10th-place Miami with 28 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27. Heat centre Bam Adebayo exited with a lower-back injury after taking a hard fall early in the second quarter when Ball appeared to swipe at Adebayo\u2019s left foot. Adebayo did not return.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s cute. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s funny. I think it\u2019s a stupid play,\u201d Miami coach Erik Spoelstra \u2060said. \u201cIt\u2019s a dangerous play. He should be penalised for that. I don\u2019t think that belongs in \u2060the game, tripping guys. Somebody has got to see that. He should have been thrown out of the game for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ball denied trying to intentionally trip Adebayo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI apologise for that one,\u201d Ball said afterwards. \u201cI got hit in the head, didn\u2019t really know where I was, but I\u2019m going to check on him and see if \u2060he is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Herro scored 23 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr added 13 points, Kelel Ware had 12 points and 19 rebounds and Norman Powell chipped in 11. Miami\u2019s season came to an end in a game \u2060that featured 17 ties and 16 lead changes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4493420\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4493420\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AFP__20260415__2270892950__v1__HighRes__MiamiHeatVCharlotteHornetsPlayInTournament-1776229983.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"LaMelo Ball in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4493420\">LaMelo Ball #1 of the Charlotte Hornets drives to the basket for the game-winning shot in overtime against the Miami Heat on April 14, 2026, at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, US [Brock Williams-Smith\/Getty Images via AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deni Avdija scored 41 points, and his \u200cthree-point play with 16.1 seconds remaining capped the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 comeback from an \u206011-point fourth- quarter deficit \u2060for a 114-110 victory over the host Phoenix Suns in a National Basketball Association (NBA) play-in game on Tuesday. The Trail Blazers ended a four-year playoff drought and will open &#8230; <a title=\"Avdija scores 41 as Trail Blazers upset Suns in NBA West play-in\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/avdija-scores-41-as-trail-blazers-upset-suns-in-nba-west-play-in\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Avdija scores 41 as Trail Blazers upset Suns in NBA West play-in\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}