Blazers Wing Takes 'Responsibility' for Blowout Loss to 76ers with Career-Worst Stat

There was plenty of blame to go around, in fairness.

Dec 23, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) and guard Anfernee Simons (1) and forward Toumani Camara (33) walk back to the bench during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija opted to take the bulk of the blame for his team's 125-103 blowout defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian.

Portland committed a season-worst 26 turnovers, which the 76ers were able to convert into 36 points. One player in particular chipped in almost half of that total — Avdija, who logged a career-low 10 turnovers all on his own.

“I’m taking responsibility,” Avdija said. “I’ve never had that amount. The ball was not in my hands very good today.”

Avdija, who earned a starting nod with power forward Jerami Grant injured, did score 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor (2-of-5 from deep) and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, while also notching seven boards, two assists, and a steal. But his trouble holding onto the ball offset a lot of his positive contributions.

“It’s one of those games that when you have all those things working against you at one time, you usually have a scary night,” Portland head coachh Chauncey Billups remarked.

The Trail Blazers stayed competitive in the first quarter, but by the halftime break were already trailing double digits, 64-54. Portland got within eight points in the third frame, but a 19-8 Sixers run essentially wrapped up the game. Portland fell behind by as many as 27 points in the contest's fourth frame.

Seven-time All-Star Philadelphia center Joel Embiid chipped in a game-high 37 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field and 12-of-13 shooting from the charity stripe, nine rebounds, and three assists. He also registered an impressive +26 plus-minus, second-best on Philadelphia only to forward Caleb Martin's +27.

“The big fella was like we saw him in his MVP year,” Billups remarked of Embiid. “Give them [the 76ers] credit ... They’re physical. Defensively they try to take a lot of things away from you.”

All five of Portland's starters scored in double figures, but with Avdija starting, no one off the bench got cooking. All told, the Trail Blazers also struggled to connect from long range, going just 8-of-36 from distance (22.2 percent). The victory improves the 76ers to 13-17 on the season, while the loss plummets Portland to 11-21, the sixth-worst record in the league. The Trail Blazers, already jockeying for lottery position, are likely hoping to lose a lot more games to other sub-.500 squads as the season continues. Although the team's fans, players and head coach would prefer a happier on-court outcome.

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