Published April 15, 2026
Deni Avdija scored 41 points and a 3-point play with 16.1 seconds left helped the Portland Trail Blazers come back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the host Phoenix Suns 114-110 in a National Basketball Association play-in game on Tuesday.
The Trail Blazers end a four-year playoff drought and open a best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series against the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
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The Suns have another chance to make the playoffs on Friday, when they host the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.
The winner of Friday’s contest will become the No. 8 seed and will face 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 give the Suns a 110-109 lead, but he was fouled on the play and missed the free throw. The Blazers rebounded and called a timeout, setting up Avdija’s lane-through drive.
Phoenix’s Jaylen Green missed a 3-point shot with six seconds left. On the rebound, Portland’s Matisse Thybulle stole the ball from Goodwin and single-handedly dunked Jerami Grant with 6/10 seconds left.
Avdija finished with 14 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the fourth quarter.
The Blazers finished the game on a 17-5 run, with Jrue Holiday scoring 21 points and Grant scoring 16 points, including two late 3-pointers.
Green had 35 points, Devin Booker had 22 points and Dillon Brooks added 20 points for the Suns.
The Suns trailed 83-82 entering the fourth quarter, but scored the first 11 points to close within 10, extending a 24-4 run that began with Avdija’s layup to give the Blazers a 79-69 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Blazers cut the deficit to 100-97 with 3-pointers from Holiday and Avdija with 4:15 remaining, but Donovan Clingan was called for a flagrant foul for pulling Brooks down on Avdija’s shot.
Grant made a 3-pointer and Shaydon Sharp made two free throws with 2:29 left to give the Trail Blazers a 105-104 lead.
Grant’s next trey put the Blazers ahead 107-106, and Booker’s free throw with 1:34 left gave the Suns a 108-107 lead. After a Portland turnover and a Booker error, Avdija hit a driving lap to extend the lead to 109-108 with 37.3 seconds left before Goodwin’s layup.
Hornets vs. Heat ball floats in elimination play-in
Earlier Tuesday, LaMelo Ball hit a go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s shot as the buzzer sounded as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the visiting Miami Heat 127-126 in overtime to advance to the play-in tournament.
Ball scored 30 points, Bridges added 28 for No. 9 Charlotte, and Coby White made one of five 3-pointers with 10.8 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
“He’s gotten a lot bigger since he’s been here,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said of White. “Tonight, in a big win-or-go-home moment, he showed what he’s capable of again. He didn’t have a great first half, but he hung in there and made some big plays down the stretch.”
For the Hornets, Brandon Miller had 23 points, White had 19 points, and Moussa Diabaté added eight points and 14 rebounds.
The Hornets will play the loser of Wednesday’s matchup between the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers and No. 8 Orlando Magic on Friday for a chance to play the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“At the end of the day, it just shows the character of the team,” Lee said. “The execution isn’t always perfect, but they find a way to stick with it…and the winning effort, competitive spirit and cohesiveness to produce big blocks at the end of the game really shows who we are.”
Mitchell led No. 10 Miami with 28 points, and Andrew Wiggins added 27 points. Heat center Bam Adebayo was forced to leave the game early in the second quarter with a lower back injury after the ball hit Adebayo’s left leg. 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. “This is a dangerous play. He should be given a penalty. It’s not appropriate for the game to trip a player. Someone has to see that. He should have been kicked out of the game for that.”
Ball denied intentionally trying to trip Adebayo.
“I apologize for that,” Ball said afterward. “I hit my head so I wasn’t really sure where I was, but I’m going to check on you and see if you’re okay.”
Herro had 23 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 13 points, Kelel Ware had 12 points and 19 rebounds, and Norman Powell chipped in with 11. Miami’s season ended with a game that featured 17 ties and 16 lead changes.
