Latest / The Sports Hangover Daily / Avdija Drops 41 as Play-In Delivers Two Insane Finishes | Apr 15, 2026
Transcript
- LaMelo Ball, game-winning layup, four point seven seconds left, Miles Bridges swatting away Miami's last hope at the buzzer — and that wasn't even the craziest finish of the night. Deni Avdija dropped forty-one in Phoenix and ripped the Suns' hearts out with sixteen seconds on the clock. Play-in basketball is undefeated, man. Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Let's start in Phoenix, because what Deni Avdija did last night was flat-out special. Forty-one points, twelve assists, seven rebounds — and a go-ahead three-point play with sixteen seconds left to drag Portland back from an eleven-point fourth quarter hole. The Blazers beat the Suns one fourteen to one ten, and Avdija is only the fifth guy ever to drop forty or more in a play-in game. He joins Tatum, Coby White, Zion, and AD. That's a real list. And the ending was incredible. Jordan Goodwin drives and scores to put Phoenix up one ten to one oh nine with thirty-two seconds left. Everybody in the building thinks the Suns have it. Then Avdija just bullies his way to the rim, gets the and-one, knocks down the free throw, and suddenly Portland's up two. Jalen Green — who had thirty-five, by the way, give him credit — fires a three that clangs off the rim. Goodwin grabs the board but Matisse Thybulle strips him clean. Game over. Portland's the seven seed. They get San Antonio in the first round, which — look, that's a tough draw, but if Avdija plays like THAT? You're not sleeping on Portland. Nobody wants to see this dude right now. Jrue Holiday chipped in twenty-one, Jerami Grant had sixteen, and this team just has a grit to it. I'm not saying they're beating the Spurs in a series. But I am saying it's not gonna be easy for San Antonio. Now over to Charlotte, where the Hornets and Heat played the kind of overtime game that reminds you why the play-in tournament exists. Charlotte won one twenty-seven to one twenty-six in OT. LaMelo had thirty, Bridges added twenty-eight, and the fourth quarter alone was an entire movie. Miami was up four with twenty-eight seconds left in regulation. FOUR. With twenty-eight seconds. That's over, right? Nope. Brandon Miller hits a three to cut it to one. Tyler Herro makes two free throws to push it back to three. And then Coby White — who apparently just does this — drains a fadeaway three at the buzzer to force overtime. In OT, LaMelo hits a layup with four point seven seconds left to go up one, and then Bridges blocks Davion Mitchell's layup attempt at the horn. Chef's kiss. Charlotte advances to play the loser of tonight's Orlando-Philly game on Friday. Speaking of tonight — we've got Orlando versus Philly in the East seven-eight game, and Golden State at the Clippers in the West nine-ten. If you're a Clippers fan, and I know there are dozens of you, this is a massive game. Warriors-Clippers play-in at the Intuit Dome? That's got juice. Alright, let's go to the ice. The Philadelphia Flyers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020. They beat Carolina three to two in a shootout on Monday. Tyson Foerster scored the only shootout goal, and Dan Vladar was a wall. Here's the kicker — Foerster had surgery on his right arm back in December and wasn't supposed to be back for five months. He came back April second and just scored the goal that punched Philly's ticket. You can't write that stuff. Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras both scored in regulation, and the Flyers finish at forty-two, twenty-seven, and twelve. They draw the Penguins in the first round, which is going to be an awesome series. Philly-Pittsburgh in the playoffs? That rivalry doesn't need any help, but it's been a minute, and both fanbases are gonna be feral. Also, quick shoutout to the Buffalo Sabres for clinching the Atlantic Division title. After years of being the league's favorite punching bag, Buffalo's on top of the Atlantic. Love to see a long rebuild actually pay off. Let's talk NFL Draft real quick, because it's heating up. Jordan Schultz reported yesterday that the Cowboys are being monitored as a team looking to trade up, potentially packaging picks twelve and twenty to leapfrog the Giants at five. This has serious DeVonta Smith energy — remember 2021 when the Eagles used Dallas's pick to jump New York? If the Cowboys pull something similar, Giants fans might actually riot. And on the Raiders front, Kirk Cousins went on Good Morning Football and basically welcomed Fernando Mendoza to Las Vegas like it's already a done deal. Said they watched film together. Said he'll be a great addition. So yeah, Mendoza at one overall feels locked in. The draft is April twenty-third in Pittsburgh, and honestly the next week is gonna be nothing but smokescreens and leaks. Buckle up. One more NFL note — the Eagles quietly picked up Dontayvion Wicks from Green Bay for a fifth-rounder and a future sixth. Wicks gets a one-year, twelve point five million dollar extension. And Howie Roseman made sure to say the A.J. Brown situation hasn't changed. Which — sure, Howie. We believe you. Here's my Hangover Take for today. The NBA play-in tournament is the best thing the league has done in twenty years, and I'm tired of people complaining about it. Last night we got a buzzer-beating three to force overtime AND a forty-one point masterclass to close out a comeback in the same evening. Two games. Both came down to the final seconds. Both had real stakes. If you're a purist who thinks seeds seven through ten don't deserve a shot — I don't know what to tell you. Those teams played eighty-two games to earn the right to fight for their lives in a single elimination setting, and the product is INCREDIBLE. The NFL has its playoff format. March Madness has the First Four. The play-in is the NBA's version, and it delivers every single year. More of this. Forever. That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.