The first contest of the two-game set between the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers featured a wild ending.
Friday night’s rematch will likely include a memorable milestone.
The host Trail Blazers will look to complete the sweep of the Rockets two nights after a tip-in by Houston’s Tari Eason as time expired was waved off, giving Portland a dramatic 103-102 victory.
Kevin Durant missed a jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining and Eason made a stellar play to be in position to tap the rebound into the net.
But while the Rockets started to celebrate, the officiating crew went to the monitor to review the play.
And the replays displayed that the ball was on Eason’s fingertips when the red light on the backboard came on.
“It felt like we won the game,” Eason said afterward. “We didn’t but it felt like it. I was excited because we fought through the adversity.
“I know we’re going to bounce back and be a better team on Friday.”
Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija scored 41 points — the second-most of his career — and he initially felt that bad feeling in his stomach.
“Roller coaster, emotional roller coaster,” Avdija said. “Sometimes you’ve got to win ugly. … We were able to get the win, we stayed together, we stayed composed and we beat a very, very good team. We’ve got to come back and do it again.”
Rockets coach Ime Udoka didn’t mince words on the game-deciding call.
“It was probably on his fingertip, as close as could be,” Udoka said. “You mess around for 3 1/2 quarters, the basketball gods will be against you at times.”
Durant is in line for a memorable Friday night from an individual standpoint.
Durant, 37, has topped 20 points in 12 straight appearances and needs just 15 points to pass legendary Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and move into seventh place on the all-time scoring list.
Durant said Houston needs to shoot better in the rematch.
“We generated good looks,” Durant said after Houston lost for the second time in seven games. “If you look at the stat sheet, everything else was better (except shooting).”
The Rockets held a commanding 57-38 rebounding advantage, including 24 offensive boards, but the shooting was trouble.
“We decided to play the last half of the fourth quarter,” Udoka said of a game the Rockets never led in the second half. “You’re shooting 37% from the field, 22% from 3 and 69% from the free-throw line. If you make shots, it’s a different game, but our defensive discipline and following the game plan, it was the worst night. … We were really poor for 3 1/2 quarters.”
Avdija operated at will on Wednesday and made 13 of 24 from the field — 2 of 9 from 3-point range — and 13 of 15 from the free-throw line.
He has inserted his name into the All-Star discussion with a stellar season that includes averages of 26.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
“He’s going to be a star. He’s a star now,” Durant said. “His biggest threat is getting downhill to the free-throw line. I think that is opening up his game.”
Avdija also is making Portland a tough team to beat. Wednesday’s win was the club’s fourth straight and sixth in seven games.
“We’re fighting our asses off every game and I don’t think people need to take those wins for granted because we’re working very, very hard,” Avdija said. “We’re very talented, we’re a good team, but we do miss a lot of key pieces. A lot of guys are stepping up and I’m very happy to see that.”
