Portland pulled off a thrilling victory in Phoenix to earn a spot in the playoffs.
The Portland Trail Blazers, in dramatic fashion, pulled off a 114-110 victory on the road against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night, which solidified a spot for them in the playoffs. The Blazers will now be the No. 7 seed, officially making the playoff bracket with a first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs set to start this weekend.
That’s the biggest Blazers win in several years, and it was on the back of Deni Avdija, who scored 41 points in this game and had some huge clutch moments down the stretch. Just a phenomenal game from him. He was efficient, going 15-of-22 from the floor, and it was one of the best games he’s ever had, especially given the moment.
Jrue Holiday was a strong veteran presence who has played in big moments with 21 points. Jerami Grant, though he started slow, knocked down some huge 3-pointers late in this game to get the Blazers over the hump. And then from there, it was just a balanced scoring attack, with several other players pitching in strong contributions.
The Blazers won the battle on the glass, dished out more assists, knocked down eight more 3-pointers than Phoenix, and just won on the margins to pull off this victory.
However, the win was not as simple as it may seem. The Blazers were up 14 in the second half and seemingly looked like they had a chance to run away with the victory. But a huge run by the Suns in front of their home crowd swung the game right back. In fact, the Suns had a 13-4 run spanning the end of the third quarter and an 18-6 run to start the fourth to really flip this game on its head.
But in the final six and a half minutes of the game, the Blazers went on a 25-10 run to steal the game right back. So it was a game of runs, as most are. The Blazers come out on top and are officially in the playoffs.
Up next, the San Antonio Spurs.