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Tari Eason Has Fine-Worthy Explanation for Deni Avdija’s Big Night vs. Rockets

Stephen Douglas

Deni Avdija shot a lot of free throws against the Rockets.
Deni Avdija shot a lot of free throws against the Rockets. / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images
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The Houston Rockets came very close to their second straight buzzer-beating win on Wednesday night. Instead, Tari Eason's putback of a Kevin Durant jumper was ruled no good by instant replay and the Portland Trail Blazers won their fourth straight game, 103-102.

Deni Avdija scored 41 points in the win. Avdija made 13 of 15 free throws in the game and earned himself three and-one opportunities in the final four minutes, converting two of them.

Tari Eason, who came a tenth of a second from glory, was called for one of those fouls. After the game he was asked what made Avdija so hard to defend and had a simple, one-word answer for the question.

"Zebras," said Eason.

Asked to clarify, Eason repeated the name of the striped animal. Twice. Considering the striped animal is sometimes used as a derogatory term for referees, this could earn him a phone call from the league office. Even if NBA officials don't wear stripes anymore.

Even if he does have a point.

Avdija is currently second in the NBA in free throw attempts per game at 9.9. That's 0.7 more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging. It's also 1.4 more than James Harden and 3.5 more than Jalen Brunson. Last season Avdija averaged 5.2 free throws per game. Two years ago, in his final season on the Wizards he shot just 3.6 free throws in 30 minutes per game.

It's been an incredible rise for Avdija this season who has increased his scoring output from 16 to 26 points in his sixth season in the league. It's hard to explain.

Though Tari Eason may have an idea.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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