Star player will not return to game to Miami Heat-Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers announced that star forward Deni Avdija will not return to Thursday night’s game against the Miami Heat after aggravating a back injury early in the third quarter.
Here’s the rest of the injury report and pre-game preview:
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Norman Powell: Available – Back
Davion Mitchell: Out – Shoulder
Kel’el Ware: Out – Hamstring
Tyler Herro: Out – Rib
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
BLAZERS
Deni Avdija: Out – Back
Sidy Cissoko: Available – Illness
Jrue Holiday: Available – Calf
Jerami Grant: Available – Achilles
Robert Williams: Available – Knee
Scoot Henderson: Out – Hamstring
Kris Murray: Out – Back
Matisse Thybulle: Out – Knee, Thumb
Damian Lillard: Out – Achilles
Blake Wesley: Out – Foot
Game date, time and location: Thursday, Jan. 22, 10:00 p.m. EST, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, KUNP Channel 16/47.1, BlazerVision (Portland)
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), Rip City Radio 620 AM (Portland)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (23-21) and Portland Trail Blazers (22-22) Blazers meet for the second and final regular season matchup. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 136-131, win on November 8 and has now won eight of the last 10 overall against Portland. The Heat are 31-43 all-time versus the Blazers during the regular season, including 14-23 in home games and 17-20 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Kasparas Jakucionis
G Norman Powell
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
F Andrew Wiggins
BLAZERS
G Jrue Holiday
G Shaedon Sharpe
C Donovan Clingan
F Jerami Grant
F Toumani Camara
Spread: Heat +3.5 (-108), Blazers -3.5 (-112)
Moneyline: Heat +134, Blazers -158
Total points scored: 235.5 (over -108, under -112)
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after win over Sacramento Kings: “We brought a force to the game. Defensively they were able to score at times but it was just the force, the intentionality. There felt like a collective spirit right from the tip and then we were able to maintain that. “
“A lot of guys had contributions, I could go down the list, but, obviously, Bam was very good. Pelle just continues to grow, he’s doing a lot more play-making now, but he brought a force to the game on both sides of the court that just kind of became contagious.”
