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Portland Trail Blazers small forward Deni Avdija missed two critical late-game shots as Israel suffered a close loss to co-host Poland at EuroBasket.Naji Saker for The Oregonian\/OregonLive<\/p>\nPortland Trail Blazers small forward Deni Avdija missed two critical late-game shots as Israel suffered a close loss to co-host Poland at EuroBasket.Naji Saker for The Oregonian\/OregonLive<\/p>\n
Deni Avdija<\/a> had a prolific individual performance for the second consecutive game at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tournament.<\/p>\n But a pair of costly late-game misses by Avdija sunk Israel in Katowice, Poland.<\/p>\n Avdija\u2019s all-round dominance was not enough to prevent Israel from falling 66-64 to co-host Poland Saturday in Group D play.<\/p>\n The Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>‘ small forward finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks as Israel (1-1) suffered its first loss.<\/p>\n With Blazers coach Chauncey Billups<\/a> watching in person, Avdija did a little bit of everything, swishing transition three-pointers, finishing multiple acrobatic drives at the basket and delivering a steal and coast-to-coast layup.<\/p>\n But he had another tough shooting outing \u2014 finishing just 7 of 19 from the field, including 3 of 10 from three-point range \u2014\u00a0and misfired on the two biggest attempts of the night.<\/p>\n The first came with 42 seconds left, when he bricked a three-pointer from the right side in a game that was tied 64-64. The second came at the final horn, after Poland took a 66-64 lead on a Jordan Loyd rebound put-back.<\/p>\n Avdija dribbled deep along the perimeter on the ill-fated final shot, creating an isolation opportunity against Poland\u2019s Michal Sokolowski. Avdija carved out a little space on the left side, darted behind the three-point line, and hoisted a step-back jumper over Sokolowski fingertips.<\/p>\n The shot looked good, but bounced off the front of the rim just before the buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n It stained an otherwise solid outing for Avdija, who is averaging 21.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in the international tournament. <\/p>\n Israel\u2019s next game will come Sunday against France (2-0).<\/p>\n Watch game highlights below:<\/p>\n \u2014 Joe Freeman<\/a> is a senior writer at The Oregonian\/OregonLive covering the Trail Blazers and NBA. Reach him at 503-294-5183, jfreeman@oregonian.com<\/a>, @BlazerFreeman<\/a> or @freemanjoe.bsky.social<\/a>. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today<\/a> to OregonLive.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n