Deni Advija bumped Russell Westbrook in the face with the ball while driving toward the basket during the closing seconds of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 134-133 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
Deni Advija Hit Russell Westbrook
DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper with four seconds left to give the Kings a 133-132 lead. With no timeouts, Portland raced down the court and Avdija was fouled by Westbrook.
Westbrook pleaded his case to a nearby official after the final buzzer sounded, but his efforts were futile.
According to the replay footage, it would appear that Avdija accidently hit Westbrook in the face with the ball while bulldozing his way to the rim.
Deni’s whistle gotta be studied ðŸ˜
No way he got bailed out on the game-winner pic.twitter.com/OYJCqAXIIy
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) December 19, 2025
Deni Advija ELBOWS Russell Westbrook in the face.
Foul on Westbrook. Kings lose. pic.twitter.com/4NdiA4GNIi
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) December 19, 2025
Per Section II of Rule No. 12 of the league rulebook:
“A dribbler shall not (1) charge into an opponent who has established a legal guarding position, or (2) attempt to dribble between two opponents, or (3) attempt to dribble between an opponent and a boundary, where sufficient space is not available for illegal contact to be avoided.
“If a defender is able to establish a legal position in the straight line path of the dribbler, the dribbler must avoid contact by changing direction or ending his dribble. The dribbler must be in control of his body at all times. If illegal contact occurs, the responsibility is on the dribbler.”
An offensive foul should have been called on Avdija.
Avdija Finished With 35 Points Against Kings
Avdija capped off his 35-point outing with a pair of free throws with 1.5 second left in overtime. The 6-foot-8 wing finished 12-for-19 (63.2%) shooting from the field and 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the foul line.
DeRozan, meanwhile, led Sacramento with 33 points, 22 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime. He was 3-of-4 (75%) from 3-point range, 10-for-16 (62.5%) from the floor, and made all 10 of his free throws.
In addition, Westbrook had 20 points and 10 assists. He was 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the field and made two pairs of free throws. Maxime Raynaud also added a career-high 29 points for the Kings.
As a result of this matchup, the Kings fell to 6-21 and are now tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the second-to-worst record in the Western Conference standings.
On the other side, the Trail Blazers improved to 11-16 and 10th overall in the conference. Portland has won back-to-back games for the first time since October.
The teams will meet again Saturday night in Sacramento.
