Avdija scores 28 as Trail Blazers beat Thunder 118-108
Deni Avdija scored 28 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-108.
Sidy Cissoko’s 2 free throws put the Trail Blazers ahead for good with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder got within 103-100 on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s free throw with 3:07 to play, but Avdija answered with a step-back 3-pointer, and the Thunder got no closer than 110-105. Gilgeous-Alexander missed all 4 of his step-back 3-pointers. He has taken 688 step-back 3-pointers since 2021-22, the third-most in the NBA, and made 36.0% of them (the league: 34.9%).
During clutch time, the Trail Blazers outscored the Thunder 8-1. Avdija (No. 10 in clutch points, 2025-26) scored 5 of the Trail Blazers’ 8 on 1 for 2 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line. Late in the fourth quarter, Avdija had 2 of his 4 steals, one of them leading to his free throws that tied the game at 98, and the Trail Blazers scored 4 points off them. With 4:01 left, Donovan Clingan stole the ball from Isaiah Hartenstein, and Cissoko’s free throws off it put the Trail Blazers ahead 100-99.
For the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points but went 0 for 7 from 3, and Hartenstein added 20 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists on 10 for 14 shooting.
The Trail Blazers shot 45.7% from the field and 38.8% from 3 to the Thunder’s 42.0% and 30.6%. The Trail Blazers outscored the Thunder 27-13 in 8 minutes with Holiday, Lillard, Avdija, Camara and Clingan on the floor together.