NBA: Trail Blazers lose Deni Avdija in win over short-handed Suns

Donovan Clingan scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Jerami Grant also tallied 23 points, as the Portland Trail Blazers overcame the early exit of leading scorer Deni Avdija to beat the short-handed Phoenix Suns 92-77 on Sunday.

Toumani Camara contributed 12 points and added four blocked shots for Portland, who built a 20-point lead and bounced back from a 54-point loss to Denver on Friday. The win marked the Blazers’ fifth victory in their last seven games.

Avdija left the game just 59 seconds in after appearing to re-aggravate a low back injury that had sidelined the All-Star forward for five of the previous eight games. He was seen holding his back under the Portland basket before being removed from the court.

For the Suns, Collin Gillespie led with 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while Jalen Green added 13 points. Phoenix played without their top three scorers—Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Grayson Allen—and have now lost three of their last five games.

Both teams scored season lows in points. Camara’s defensive rebound and dunk extended the Blazers’ lead to 71-51 with 3:30 left in the third quarter, and Phoenix never came closer than 10 points afterward. The Suns managed to narrow the gap to 85-74 on a Gillespie layup with 4:41 remaining.

Phoenix shot just 36.5% from the floor and converted only 9 of 35 three-point attempts. The team has now shot under 38% in each of their last three games. Portland, meanwhile, made three-pointers from Grant and Clingan, finishing 46.9% from the field and 10 of 37 from long range, snapping their streak of eight consecutive games with at least 14 made threes.

Phoenix fielded its 20th different starting lineup of the season, the first without either Brooks or Booker. Reserve guard Jordan Goodwin was also sidelined due to a left calf strain suffered in Saturday’s game against Orlando.

The first quarter saw a combined 2 of 21 shooting from beyond the arc, ending tied 20-20. Portland was 2 of 14 from deep, with Camara and Scoot Henderson hitting the only successful attempts. Grant added 10 points and two treys in the second quarter, giving Portland a 47-40 halftime lead. Camara’s three-pointer in the third quarter put the Blazers ahead 60-45 with 7:13 remaining.

Phoenix has a 3-5 record without Brooks, who is recovering from a fractured left hand suffered in a double-overtime win against Orlando. Booker missed his second straight game due to a hip injury, and Allen, who scored 27 points in his return Saturday after a four-game absence, was held out for knee management.

—Field Level Media/Reuters