A historic night unfolded in the NBA as three Israeli players, Deni Avdija, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf, shared the court for the first time in an official game.
In front of thousands of Israeli and Jewish fans at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Portland defeated Brooklyn 95-114 in what could be described as a blue-and-white evening.
Avdija stood out for Portland with a well-rounded performance, scoring 18 points (4-of-13 from the field, 1-of-4 from three, 9-of-12 from the free-throw line), along with six rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes. He also added a steal and a block, finishing with an impressive plus-22 rating.
On the other side, 19-year-old Saraf delivered one of his strongest performances in the league so far, scoring 15 points (5-of-10 from the field, 0-of-1 from three, 5-of-6 from the line) in 23 minutes, marking a career high. Wolf contributed eight points (3-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from three), along with five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes for Brooklyn.
Saraf, who was initially listed as questionable, entered the game midway through the second quarter with Portland already leading 30-49. Despite that, he was one of the standout performers in the second half, scoring 13 of his 15 points after halftime. It marked his fourth consecutive game in double figures, after matching his previous career high of 12 points in the prior game against Philadelphia.
Brooklyn played without key contributors. Star player and leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. missed his third straight game due to an ankle injury, while Noah Clowney was rested.
Portland opened the game with a 0-10 run in the first quarter and finished it with a 20-35 lead. The visitors’ aggressive defense continued to stifle Brooklyn, which shot just 30% from the field and 14.3% from beyond the arc in the first half, which ended 41-65.
Wolf and Saraf led a second-half comeback attempt after Brooklyn trailed by as many as 31 points. The duo helped cut the deficit to 91-76 with nine minutes remaining, but Portland held firm to secure the win.
With the victory, Portland improved to 33-36 and remained just half a game behind the Golden State Warriors in the race for the ninth seed in the Western Conference. Brooklyn, meanwhile, continued its struggles, suffering a fourth straight loss and dropping 14 of its last 16 games.