Deni Avdija had 32 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday to help the Portland Trail Blazers stave off the Indiana Pacers for a 127-119 victory in Indianapolis.
Donovan Clingan added 28 points and 13 rebounds, Toumani Camara scored 17 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in 15 points and eight assists. Robert Williams III had 10 rebounds off the bench for Portland, which has won consecutive games for the first time since before the All-Star Break (Feb. 6-9).
Ivica Zubac had 18 points for the Pacers followed by Jalen Slawson’s 17 and Aaron Nesmith’s 15. Quenton Jackson added 13 points, while Jay Huff had 11 and Jarace Walker posted 10 points and seven rebounds. T.J. McConnell dished out a game-high 10 assists for Indiana, which extended its franchise-record losing streak to 15 games.
Indiana sliced its 17-point halftime deficit to 12 on Zubac’s floater with 9:04 left in the third. Camara then scored seven points during Portland’s ensuing 11-2 run, giving the Trail Blazers a 95-74 lead midway through the quarter.
Scoot Henderson and Zubac traded baskets in the final minute of the third, as Portland took a 105-86 edge into the fourth.
From there, the Pacers cut the deficit to 12 as Ben Sheppard’s consecutive triples stamped a 10-0 run at the 9:16 mark of the final quarter.
The run continued as Taelon Peter’s layup and 3-pointer were followed by Kobe Brown’s triple, trimming Portland’s lead to 120-117 with 1:52 left. After Walker missed a layup which would have made it a one-point game, Holiday drilled a triple to give the Trail Blazers a six-point cushion.
Avdija and Jerami Grant combined to make four free-throw attempts in the final 37 seconds to seal the win.
Portland grabbed its first double-digit lead at the 3:43 mark of the opening quarter when Avdija’s free throws gave the visitors a 31-20 edge.
Jackson then scored seven points during an 11-2 Indiana run, pulling the Pacers within two. Avdija’s layup beat the first-quarter buzzer to give the Trail Blazers a 37-33 lead.
Facing another 10-point deficit in the second quarter, Indiana trimmed the margin to six on Nesmith and McConnell’s mid-range jumpers. Portland answered the spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers from Clingan and Henderson, opening the lead back up to 12.
Avdija capped off a 23-point first half with a driving dunk, putting the Trail Blazers ahead by 19 with 38 seconds remaining in the opening half.
