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.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
