------ Nikola Vucevic ruined the Trail Blazers 32-7 fourth quarter run with a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
Playing the second night of a back-to-back, the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers dug deep to push the Chicago Bulls to the limit!
Nikola Vucevic scored a team-high 27 points including the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 122-121 Wednesday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Jerami Grant scored a game-high 33 and Deni Avdija recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to lead Portland (6-9).
Deni Avdija played his best games in his young career. He finished with 17 points, 21 rebounds, and two blocked shots. 10 of Clingan's rebounds were on the offensive glass which helped give Portland an impressive 38-10 edge in second chance points.
Toumani Camara finished with 14 points and five rebounds and Kris Murray contributed nine points and six rebounds.
Chicago (8-6) outscored Portland 36-24 in the third quarter and built a 21-point lead with 9:16 to play, but Portland had a response.
The Trail Blazers ripped off 13-straight finished off on a dunk by Murray to cut the deficit to eight with 6:23 to play. Avdija would finish off a 15-7 run with a three-pointer to tie the game at 116 with 122 to play.
A three-point play from Clingan would give the Trail Blazers a 119-116 lead with 47.3 seconds to play. Avdija would return to the line with 16.2 seconds to play and make one out of two. His free throw gave Portland a four-point lead and finished off the 32-7 fourth quarter run.
Coby White responded with a three-pointer with 9.1 seconds to play which cut Portland's lead to just one. Chicago quickly fouled Grant and put him at the line with 8.2 seconds to play. Like Avdija, he made just one out of two to give the Blazers a two-point lead at 121-119.
After a Chicago timeout, White found Vucevic from beyond-the-arc for the game-winning shot.
The Trail Blazers were playing without Jrue Holiday (Calf), Shaedon Sharpe (Calf), and Robert Williams III (Rest). They joined the injury list that includes Matisse Thybulle, Scoot Henderson, and Blake Wesley.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers begin a three-game road trip Friday in San Francisco against the Warriors. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- All you can do is applaud the effort from the short-handed Blazers.