Avdija scores 41 as Trail Blazers upset Suns in NBA West play-in

Deni Avdija scored 41 points, and his ‌three-point play with 16.1 seconds remaining capped the Portland Trail Blazers’ comeback from an ⁠11-point fourth- quarter deficit ⁠for 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 a best-of- seven ⁠Western Conference playoff series against the No 2 seed San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

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The Suns will have another chance to make the playoffs on Friday, when they will host the winner of ⁠the Wednesday play-in game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers.

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.

Jordan Goodwin ‌sank 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’s drive through the lane.

Phoenix’s Jalen Green missed a 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining. On the rebound, Portland’s Matisse Thybulle stole the ball from Goodwin and found Jerami Grant alone for a dunk with six-tenths of a second remaining.

Avdija had 14 ⁠points in the fourth quarter, and he finished with 12 ⁠assists and seven rebounds.

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.

Green scored 35 points, Devin Booker had 22 and Dillon Brooks added 20 for ⁠the Suns.

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 ⁠that began after Avdija made a layup to give the Blazers ⁠a 79-69 lead midway through the third quarter.

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’s make.

Grant made a ‌3-pointer, and Shaedon Sharpe hit two free throws with 2:29 left, bringing the Trail Blazers within 105-104 with 2:29 left.

Grant’s next trey put the Blazers in front 107-106 before Booker’s ‌free ‌throws 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’s layup.

Deni Avdija in action. — 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]

Earlier on Tuesday, LaMelo Ball hit a go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds ‌left, and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s shot at the buzzer, as the Charlotte Hornets beat the visiting Miami Heat 127-126 ⁠in overtime to ⁠advance in the play-in tournament.

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.

“He’s been huge since he got ⁠here,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said of White. “He showed who he is again tonight in a big moment, in a win-or-go-home game. He didn’t have a great first half, but he continued to stick with it and came up with big plays down ⁠the stretch.”

Brandon Miller had 23 points for the Hornets and White finished with 19. Moussa Diabate added eight points and 14 rebounds.

The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday’s 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.

“It just shows the character of the team at the end ‌of the day,” Lee said. “Execution is not always going to be perfect, but these guys find a way to stick with it … 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.”

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’s left foot. Adebayo did not return.

“I don’t think it’s cute. I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s a stupid play,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra ⁠said. “It’s a dangerous play. He should be penalised for that. I don’t think that belongs in ⁠the game, tripping guys. Somebody has got to see that. He should have been thrown out of the game for that.”

Ball denied trying to intentionally trip Adebayo.

“I apologise for that one,” Ball said afterwards. “I got hit in the head, didn’t really know where I was, but I’m going to check on him and see if ⁠he is OK.”

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’s season came to an end in a game ⁠that featured 17 ties and 16 lead changes.