Deni Avdija carried his momentum into Friday night in Portland. Fresh off a season-high 41-point outing against the Houston Rockets, he once again powered the Portland Trail Blazers to a home win at the Moda Center. But the result only told part of the story. Before tipoff, the six-foot-eight forward was involved in a frightening incident that briefly shifted focus away from basketball.

“A driver ran a red light and hit the car Deni Avdija was in the night before yesterday’s game. He still showed up and won the Rockets again,” Heritage Hoops reported on X.

According to several reports, the 25-year-old Portland star was involved in a car accident while on his way to Friday’s game. Although if this happened to another player, he would’ve probably missed the game, which would’ve been understandable as well, but not Deni Avdija, as he went on to enter the Moda Center and lead his team on the court.

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Avdija scored 20 points along with 3 rebounds and 6 assists in about 36 minutes of action and looked almost flawless, leading his team to an impressive win over a star-studded Rockets side. While Avdija showcased the utmost level of professionalism on Friday night, it wasn’t just fueled by his commitment toward the sport, but might’ve had a deeper meaning as well.

That’s because after his stunning performance in the previous game, Houston’s Tari Eason took a dig at Avdija. When asked about what made defending Deni Avdija hard, Eason provided a strong one-word answer.

“Zebras,” the Rockets forward said, referring to the NBA officials seemingly making calls in Avdija’s favor, after which the 25-year-old addressed the elephant in the room on Friday.

Deni Avdija hits back at Tari Eason following back-to-back wins over the Rockets

Portland Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija followed up his 41-point performance against Houston with a 20-point night on Friday. Nonetheless, everyone’s attention wasn’t toward his heroics on the court but rather what the forward had to say about Eason’s comments, when the Blazers eked out a nail-biting 103-102 win after the Rockets forward’s last-second rebound tip-in was overturned.

“It’s definitely fun to win a team two nights in a row after all the excuses in the locker room, all the zebra stuff,” Avdija said post-game, not holding back at all. “I’m just here to play basketball for real. Even if I lose, I just own it. You know what I’m saying? It’s a part of the game. But I’m happy,” he further stated.

The Trail Blazers star straight-up laughed off the “zebra” allegations made by Eason, as he emphasized playing basketball rather than making such baseless comments. And you’ve got to agree with the towering forward, as Portland did earn the win on Wednesday night and also on Friday night. More than blaming the officials, Eason could’ve looked into his team’s own stat sheet.

That’s because the reality was that the Rockets lost due to their own shortcomings on the court rather than anything else. Meanwhile, it has been an impressive stretch of games for the Trail Blazers, who’ve now won five straight games. Now Deni Avdija and his teammates will shift their focus toward the New York Knicks, whom they face next on Sunday, as we eagerly await tip-off.