Deni Avdija Needs a Break

📍PHOENIX — On the third possession Sunday, Deni Avdija backed down Ryan Dunn near the basket, passed the ball out to Donovan Clingan and grabbed at his lower back, motioning to Tiago Splitter to come out of the game. Clingan missed a three-pointer, Dunn grabbed the rebound and Jerami Grant committed a foul to stop play.

That was less than a minute into a game where Avdija was a gametime decision going in.

The Trail Blazers won without him, stifling a shorthanded Suns team and allowing Phoenix to score just 77 points, less than half of the 157 they gave up to Denver two nights ago. Their defense, led by a dominant performance from Donovan Clingan, was strong enough to overcome another sloppy offensive night where they shot 10-of-37 from three-point range and turned the ball over 21 times.

"This is how we've got to construct victories, from the defense," Splitter said. "And then eventually, hopefully we take care of the ball better."

Coming off an embarrassing 54-point blowout loss to the Nuggets in their first game after the All-Star break, this was as close to a must-win game as the Blazers have had this season. They got it done, but once again at the expense of their best player.