A tough night for Deni Avdija and the Trail Blazers today as the Spurs ended their playoff run with a resounding 114-95 win for San Antonio to close out their series in five games. During the game, the Spurs seemed to be targeting Avdija with their physicality on both ends of the floor.
In the third quarter, the physicality seemingly got to him as he almost lost his temper and began charging towards De’Aaron Fox on a play where Avdija ended up on the floor while trying to drive past Fox.
Here’s a video of the incident where the Israeli All-Star’s teammates had to hold him back from confronting Fox and initiating a potential altercation.
Deni Avdija tried to go after De’Aaron Fox 😳 pic.twitter.com/M754WiXIks
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 29, 2026
This was not the only incident where Avdija was the target of the Spurs’ physicality. With less than four minutes left in the first quarter itself, Keldon Johnson battled with him in the post for a tough finish and eventually had some words for the Israeli All-Star.
“Let’s f——g go! He can’t guard me. Little a– n—-,” Johnson seemingly said in the moment that subsequently went viral on social media.
Keldon Johnson with the 🤏🏾 celebration having scoring on Deni Avdija in the paint
Can tell the intensity is high in game five#Porvida | #GSG pic.twitter.com/tSqjF7b3qh
— Cory Mose (@Cory_Mose) April 29, 2026
Even the Spurs’ fans created a distracting atmosphere for Deni Avdija, as they brought out a chipped tooth sign to throw him off during free throws. During Game 3 of this series, Avdija did in fact chip his front tooth, and it seemed as though Deni Avdija, the Blazers’ best player, had a target on his back tonight.
Spurs fans brought out a chipped tooth sign while Deni Avdija was shooting free throws. Wow. pic.twitter.com/uLwv6J4rIV
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 29, 2026
This was a night full of hostilities for the Israeli All-Star as the Spurs looked to emphatically close out the series tonight and not let the Trail Blazers build any hope. The Spurs led right from tipoff and did not give away the lead even once tonight.
Avdija finished the game with 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists as he struggled to create any significant impact on both ends of the floor. He shot 7-15 from the floor (46.7 FG%), 1-6 from beyond the arc (16.7 3P%), and had a -20 net (+/-) rating for tonight.
But it seems Avdija tried to take the positives from this experience with no hostilities, as he even embraced Stephon Castle and the rest of the Spurs after the game, despite the number of incidents that happened this series. Subsequently, he also spoke positively about his key takeaways from this playoff experience.
“I don’t know if it was a lesson, but definitely an experience. For the team and me, as a group, to fight together, see what it’s like to play in the playoff physicality and atmosphere. I had a lot of fun, we left it all on the court, I left it all on the court, but you’ve got to stay resilient, and you’ve got to do it together,” said Avdija at the postgame press conference.
Moving ahead, the Spurs have their eyes on the Nuggets-Timberwolves series to determine who they face in the next round, while Avdija and the Trail Blazers plan their vacation. It will be interesting to see if the Spurs can hunt the opposition’s best player as they did in this series again in the second round.
