Blazers’ Deni Avdija Discusses Game 4 Altercation With Stephon Castle

Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Deni Avdija commented on his late-game altercation with Stephon Castle throughout Portland’s 114-93 dwelling loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday within the first spherical of the NBA Playoffs.

On the play, Avdija was whistled for a foul on a Castle layup try on the 2:13 mark of the fourth quarter. After scoring by the contact, Castle then pressed the ball into Avdija’s chest. The transfer sparked a short shoving matchup and heated alternate of phrases between the 2 gamers. It ended with technical fouls being assessed to each.

At the postgame press convention, Avdija was requested to share his perspective of the sequence. Here’s Avdija’s response:

“I think he’s a good player. I have a lot of respect for him, but… the shoving the ball into my chest is unnecessary. I don’t play those games. It’s not who I am. You can be tough. You can be physical, but there’s a level of disrespect that I’m not gonna accept. He does a lot of provocation throughout the whole game, and I think at one point it was just disrespectful. And as I said, I’m not playing that.”

Avdija completed Game 4 with 26 factors on 8-14 capturing from the sector (2-3 on 3s), plus seven rebounds and three assists. Castle completed with 16 factors on 6-14 capturing and eight assists.

The two will meet once more when the Blazers face the Spurs in San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday night time. Tipoff is scheduled for six:30 pm PDT. The Spurs lead 3-1 within the sequence.