Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason strongly believes that Portland Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija has greatly benefited from the officiating in the 103-102 result on Wednesday night.
“Zebras,” Eason told reporters about what makes Avdija difficult to defend.
Avdija is silently having a career year with the Portland Trail Blazers, and he went off again yesterday, notching 41 points and six rebounds on 13-for-24 shooting from the field in 39 minutes. The Israeli international also went 13-for-15 from the charity stripe, while the rest of his teammates combined for only 10 free throw attempts.
The game went down to the wire, as Eason thought he won the game for the Houston Rockets after tipping in Kevin Durant’s missed jumper. However, the referees waved his shot off after review, and the Portland Trail Blazers registered their fourth straight win.
Portland Trail Blazers News: Deni Avdija wins first Player of the Week honors in his NBA career
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija continues to make a strong case for this year’s NBA All-Star Game after being named the Western Conference Player of the Week for Week 11.
He led the team to a 3-1 record, averaging 26.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game on 44.6 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point land, making him the only player in the league to reach those averages or better for the week. Avdija is currently seventh in the second fan returns in the Western Conference All-Star voting – ahead of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
“First of all, want to say I appreciate the fans. Crazy. I saw that I was seventh on the votes, and people are actually, like, putting a lot of effort and voting for me and wanting me to be there,” Avdija said recently. “I can only play and be focused on winning and playing good with the team. But I just appreciate the fan support around the world. That really gave me a chance to maybe be there. It’s a big honor.”
