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Carmelo Anthony

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Blazers add Ben McLemore

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Blazers have begun to piece together their bench, announcing their first signing of the year in guard/wing player Ben McLemore. This isn’t the big free agent signing the Blazers need to compete for a title, but with the crap cap management that Neil Olshey has done over recent years, this is about the best they can do.

McLemore should be slated to take the minutes that Carmelo Anthony had been occupying the last few years. Anthony is expected to sign with the Lakers and attempt to win a championship again with Russell Westbrook. We know how that went the last time.

Pauses for laughter.

McLemore has been a bit of a disappointment since coming into the league in 2013. It might not be totally his fault, he did spend his first few years in the league playing for the Sacramento Kings and that place has ruined a lot of careers over the last twenty years.

McLemore has averaged 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1 assist, and just over half a steal a game for his career.

Hoping this signing does not impede the development of guys like Nassir Little and potentially Greg Brown.

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Blazers run out of gas in Game 6. Nuggets win series 4-2.

by Miles DeCaro
written by Miles DeCaro

Coming off an emotional double overtime loss in Denver, the Blazers need to win tonight to keep their season alive.

10,000 fans cheered them on tonight for the most of this bizarre pandemic season in what could be the last Blazers game of the year.

Pre-game, Damian Lillard was given the 2020-2021 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award and which recognizes “the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.” After his 55 point performance in Game 5 including scoring 17 of the teams 19 points in both overtime periods, it seemed all the more fitting.

Congratulations, Dame. This award is very well deserved.

First Quarter:

Michael Porter made news before the game by saying that he was going to get better shots and be more aggressive.



He wasn’t lying. On the first play of the game, he hit a 3. He would go on to hit his first 6 of the game. Not just first 6 shots, his first 6 three pointers en route to 22(!) first quarter points.

Not to be outdone, Damian Lillard didn’t miss his first shot until the 3:45 mark of the first and started 4-4. He finished the quarter with 12 points.

Despite Porter’s first quarter explosion, the Blazers led for the majority of the quarter and actually shot better as a team from the 3 point line in the quarter at 6-9 (.667) to the Nuggets 6-12 (.500).

Jokic picked up two quick fouls in the first 7 minutes including a sneaky attempt to wrap his arms under Nurkic to draw a foul on Nurk and get him out of the game. He got those types of calls in Denver, but not tonight on the road.

CJ continued to struggle from 3 but was very aggressive getting to the basket and finished the quarter 2-5 FG after hitting his first 2 shots.

Jokic gets an offensive foul at 9:24 trying to sneak a foul on Nurk build grabbing his arms and pulling through. He got the opposite call in Denver. He picks up his second foul at the 5:22 mark and Michael Malone immediately took him out.

Michael Porter continued to score at will to keep them afloat. The Blazers end the quarter with only a 4 point lead despite shooting over 65% from 3 in the quarter.

Heavy minutes for the starters of both teams in the first quarter. You wouldn’t expect anything less in an elimination game.

33-29 Blazers.

Jokic had 0 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. That’s seems like a win for Denver to only be down by 4.

Second Quarter:

The 2nd unit came in and held things down for the Blazers including a great back door play for a CJ two handed dunk. Good pass from Melo.



Jokic and Nurk continued to have their minutes matched by each coach and came back in together at the 10:30 mark. 2 fouls on Jokic. None on Nurk. That’s unusual this series as Nurk has seemed to constantly be in foul trouble.

Immediate whistle, but on Monte Morris.

Clear foul on Jokic that isnā€™t called. Tried to steal it from Nurk and got a lot of arm.


Melo with back to back buckets.Ā Ā 

Jokicā€™s first points at the 9 minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Weird.

Facundo Campazzo somehow got a definitive block on CJ. That may have been his first block in the NBA.



(Editor’s note: According to Basketball Reference, Facundo Campazzo somehow was credited with 14 blocks this season. He also had a famous block on Kobe Bryant in the Olympics)Ā 

CJ continues to struggle from the 3 point line and finishes the have 2-8 from 3, but with 11 points after continuing to stay aggressive and attack the basket.

The good news is the rest of the team is on fire from 3.

Anfernee Simons had 3 including back to back bombs toward the end of the half.

The last minute of the half was very representative with no missed shots, a Porter dunk, Lillard layin, Jokic 3 pointer and tough step back 3 for Dame to finish the half.

This is fun.

68-61 Blazers.



MPJ led the Nuggets with 26 on 10-14 FG, 6-9 from 3pt. Wow.

Dame quietly has 19 on 7-11 fg and 3-5 from 3pt with 7 assists. Maybe we just expect that from him at this point.

8 man rotation for Blazers. Heavy minutes for all 5 starters each over 18 minutes played in the half.

Nuggets going 10 deep, but all 5 starters played more than 17 minutes.

Third quarter:

The Blazers start the 2nd half quickly on a 5 point run to stretch the lead to 12.

Jokic seemed to know that he needed to pick things up for his team and started with back to back easy buckets in the lane. You donā€™t want him to get going.

Denver wonā€™t go away though. Jokic wonā€™t let them with 11 points in the first 6 minutes including a beautiful Tim Duncan style back shot to answer.

Campazzo and Powell both sit with 4 fouls at the 7:15 mark.

Jokic is putting the Nuggets in his back in the 3rd. 11 points in the first 6 minutes.

Back to back 3s for Lord Covington quell the rally temporarily.

back-to-back pic.twitter.com/jx9Gg2cQaJ

ā€” Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 4, 2021

I canā€™t believe there are still nets on these hoops because everyone is on fire!

4th foul on Nurkic at the 2 minute mark in the 3rd. All four happened in the 3rd quarter.Ā  Clearly a charge.Ā  Smh.Ā Ā 

 

5th foul on Campazzo at the 1 minute mark in the 3rd.

Monte Morris hits a running 3 pointer at the buzzer to end the quarter and this does not bode well.

101-98 Blazers.

Fourth Quarter:

Paul Millsap floater to start the quarter. Nuggets only down 1. Shot clock violation on first possession for the Blazers. Uh-oh. Not a good start.

Nuggets take the lead on a Monte Morris pull-up. 102-101 at 10:03.

Back to back vintage pull-up midrange jumpers for Melo. Fouled on the second by MPJ for the and-one. Vintage.



MPJ is falling back to earth after missing 2 straight 3s and a turnover.

A Monte Morris 3 cuts the lead to one at 7:06 and Jokic, Nurk and Norman Powell are coming back in for the closing stretch.

Jokic hits a Dame distance 3 to take the lead. That’s not fair.



Nurk gets a bucket off a pretty assist from Lillard.

Jokic misses a contested lay-in and the rebound is pushed out of bounds by JaMychal Green.

Refs call it off the Blazers and Stotts uses his challenge.

Call stands. Unbelievable.

Really bad time for a turnover by Nurk.

Dubious foul call on Norman Powell underneath His 5th. Green hits both.

5th foul on Nurk at 4:01.Ā  Smh.Ā  This isn’t looking good.Ā Ā 

Austin Rivers follows that with a 3 to stretch it to a 9 point lead after a 22-7 run.Ā  Two straight Blazers’ turnovers and then Jokic hits a spinning 5 footer to stretch the lead to 11.

Lillard hits a layup. Next time down, he’s fouled on a 3. Hits all three. Does he still have some magic left?

119-113 with 2:30 to go.

Jokic finished the pick and roll in traffic for a 121-113 lead with 1:24 to go.

After a CJ McCollum layup, Jokic misses and the Nuggets get the offensive rebound. It leads to a Aaron Gordon corner 3.



Dame misses a pull-up 3. 1-6 in the 4th and 1-9 in the 2nd half.Ā  He wasn’t the same after falling hard and hitting his head.Ā  He also played 43 minutes tonight.Ā Ā 

Carmelo and Dame exit at the 30 second mark.

Is that the last time we see Carmelo in the NBA?

Another missed 3. Nuggets rebound.

126-115 Nuggets.


Great win for the Nuggets to close things out on the road. Too much Jokic in the second half. He played like he was the MVP of the league.

Blazers looked tired in the 4th and just ran out of gas. Despite setting an NBA record for most 3 pointers made in a playoff series with 35 and averaging 34.3 PPG Damian Lillard couldn’t summon the late game magic again.

Going into the offseason, this team has a lot of questions to answer.

Do you trade Nurk?

Or CJ?

Does Stotts get another season?

It’ll be interesting to see what Jody Allen, Neil Olshey and company come up with.

A first round exit is not what this team wanted at the beginning of this season, but it’s now happened 4 of the last 5 years.Ā  .Ā  .Ā  .

Nevertheless, a big thank you to all the players and coaches for performing each and every night during a global pandemic. It was fun to watch and we appreciate you, no matter what happens.Ā Ā 

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Blazers dominate Denver to tie series at 2-2

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

After a frustrating Game 3 gave the visitors a 2-1 series lead in Portland, the Trail Blazers were back in action to try and even the tie on Saturday afternoon.Ā 

They did so in impressive fashion. It was a team effort that paid massive dividends on both ends. Powell’s aggression, CJ’s shotmaking, and Nurk’s controlled chaos were the biggest differences from Game 3, but some timely shots from Melo and only 16 from Jokic certainly helped.Ā 

Game Summary

Portland leapt out to a 23-13 lead in the first quarter behind 10 quick points from Norman Powell. Powell, who struggled in Game 3, had a pair of quick layups and canned two threes to give the Blazers an early edge.Ā 

Jusuf Nurkic was also winning the early battle against his former teammate, Nikola Jokic. The likely MVP started 1-for-7 from the field, while Nurk began 4/4. Most importantly, the Bosnian Beast was able to match Jokic for minutes while committing only one foul in the first quarter.Ā 

Denver’s second rotation cut Portland’s once-double-digit lead to twoā€”led by five points in two possessions from JaMychal Greenā€”but Portland’s starters would retake the advantage and lead 57-47 at the half.Ā 

While Dame’s midrange game was not paying dividends, Portland’s defense was. Holding Jokic to 11 points on 12 shots was a huge advantage, especially given the 13 points from both Nurk and Norm.Ā 

Powell would continue his impressive performance to start the third, and Portland’s lead swelled to 21 at the 9:05 mark. Jokic was still struggling as well, and although Dame’s shots weren’t falling, CJ picked up the slack offensively.Ā 

In Game 3, Carmelo Anthony hit a clutch three to tie the game with about five minutes remaining. On Saturday, he swished his second triple to give Portland a 30-point advantage: 88-58 with 2:23 left in the third. CJ McCollum almost maintained the lead, but the buzzer beat his three at the end of the quarter.Ā 

Nassir Little, Derrick Jones Jr., and CJ Elleby got their first Playoff minutes as they checked in with under five to go and an insurmountable lead. Keljin Blevins and TJ Leaf would follow soon after.Ā 

Little’s rejection of JaVale McGee was the icing on the cake for a dominant Portland performance, a much-needed 30-point victory for a team that struggled in their last two performances.Ā 

Game 5 on Tuesday will obviously be crucial, but this was a great way to tie the series at two games apiece.Ā 

 

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Blazers fall to the Nuggets in first home playoff game

by Miles DeCaro
written by Miles DeCaro

This will be a good one. Teams that win Game 3 in a 7 game series when it’s tied 1-1 coming in go on to win the series 73% of the time. Who will it be tonight?

Playoff pre-game intros at the Moda Center are strong. Crowd is clearly into it and the visuals are well done. There is a lot of energy in this arena. 8,000 fans in the building. Whatā€™s up, Charlie Folkstead!



First Quarter:

MPJ travels and then hits a 14 foot floater to start of the scoring. The Nuggets continue giving Aaron Gordon the defensive assignment on Dame.Ā  CJ hits a one legged floater to start the scoring for the Blazers.

RoCo with the nasty reverse dunk on a backdoor cut. Great pass by Nurk.Ā 


Lillard is attacking the basket a lot to start this game and just banged all over Campazzo. Another great pass by Nurkic and the Blazers take a 20-12 lead.Ā  Jokic responds calmly with another 3 pointer.

Great block by Nurk. Heā€™s doing everything tonight.

BROOM BALL off a 3 point miss by Austin Rivers.




Fast pace tonight.Ā  Nuggets seem to have weathered the storm.Ā  A Carmelo free throw with 56 seconds left ends a 3 minute scoring drought for the Blazers.

Denver is 7-10 from 3 to start the game.Ā  Portland needs some defense.

39-30 Nuggets.

Second Quarter:

Nurk came to play tonight against his old team. Heā€™s everywhere battling. Gets an offensive rebound and put back for an and-one.




Better defense for Portland in the 2nd quarter. Nurk gets a steal and immediately turns into another assist for a layup.

Another great pass by Nurk for the lob that leads to an Anfernee Simons layup.

5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists for Nurkic.Ā 




Norman Powell loses a shoe and the Nuggets get a transition dunk from Jokic to stretch the lead to 10 at 53-43 with 5 minutes to go in the first half.

Four point play for MPJ at 3:51. Tough call on Norman Powell.Ā  Followed by an offensive foul on MPJ kicking out his leg to try to get another 4 point play. You win some and lose some.

Another turnover caused by Nurkā€™s defense leads to a transition dunk for Dame.



Lillard leads the game in scoring with 20 and Jokic leads Denver
with 16.

Nurkic had 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block.Ā  He was everywhere.

Nuggets are shooting 60% from 3pt at 12-20 and the Blazers are 5-17 for 29.4% from 3pt. Denverā€™s bench is outscoring Portlandā€™s 20-5. These are the difference right now.

This game has been really fun to watch and is living up to Michael Wilbonā€™s prediction that it would be ā€œthe best game of the playoffs so far.ā€

64-59 Denver.

Third Quarter:

Powell hit a 3 to start the 2nd half.Ā  Jokic responds with a free throw line jumper and then Campazzo hits a 3.

The Blazers canā€™t break the seal here as the Nuggets have consistently hit shots to keep them at bay and remain ahead by about 7-12 since the end of the first quarter.

After a Norman Powell dunk, Jokic hits back to back 3 pointers. He is on fire tonight. 10-13 fg, 4-6 from 3pt for 24 points.

Stotts uses his challenge for a charge call on Nurkic on Campazzo.Ā  Not sure that is a good idea.




The call is upheld. Tough one but I think it was a good call. Campazzo is a pest on defense.

Another offensive rebound and putback by Nurk cuts the lead to 75-70 and the Portland crowd cheers on their team to try to will them back into this.

Dame presses the turbo button to zoom past Jokic for a laying to cut the lead to 75-72. Cut to the Ne-Yo house music “Letā€™s Goā€ and the crowd goes wild.

Great after time out play from Michael Malone. Pin down screen to allow Jokic to cut to the basket. Gets fouled. Hits both free throws.

Melo finally hits a 3 after almost 2 full games of misses and the lead is 2. Chants of ā€œLetā€™s Go Blazers!ā€




Nurkic with more offensive rebounding and another putback cuts the lead to 2 again after a couple Jokic free throws.

Enes Kanter come is at 1:31 to go after a no call on a Nurkic layup leads to a 4th foul called on him.

Jokic rag dolls Kanter for an offensive rebound and then Kanter loses his footing and responds with a 90ā€™s playoff foul. Will likely be a flagrant.

Yep, the call is upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Two shots and the ball back. That is a killer.

Jokic hits both free throws, but then a moving screen is called on JaMychal Green, so the Blazers escape the flagrant only giving up 2 points.

Monte Morris is called for traveling with 1.6 seconds left. Back to back turnovers for the Nuggets. Crowd may be having an effect on them.

Melo barely misses a chance a buzzer beating 3 after a smart 3/4 court pass.

Blazers defense stepped up and held the Nuggets to 25% shooting in the 3rd quarter.

84-79 Nuggets. The fourth should be a good one.

Fourth Quarter:

Hollis Jefferson comes in for Kanter. I guess Billy Donovan was right: ā€œCanā€™t play Kanterā€ at least in the playoffs.

Simons misses a wide open corner 3 that would have been big.Ā  MPJ corner 3 on the other end stretches the lead to 8.Ā  They just can’t break the seal.

CJ misses a long two. Scoreless in the second half. He needs to step up here.

On queue, he gets himself to the line for two FTs. Maybe that will get him going.Ā  Lillard back in at 9:14. Much earlier than normal.Ā  CJ gets into the lane and gets a bucket. 89-83.

Melo with a nice pump fake, dribble and corner 3. 91-86. This is getting good.

Nurk comes back at the 7:30 mark. So does Jokic.

Immediately a tough call on Nurk trying to deny Jokic for his 5th foul at 7:20. That will be big.

Another 3 for Melo and he has 8 in the in first 5 minutes of the 4th. 91-91.



Great defensive hustle by Campazzo.Ā  Chased down a transition opportunity, poked it away from behind, and saved it in the corner.Ā  Those are winning plays.

Jokic misses three straight and the crowd is INTO it.Ā  Rivers hits a wing 3 to bring the lead to 94-91.

CJ hits one of two FTs and the Nuggets lead by 2.

Nurk fouls out at 5:17 on an Aaron Gordon and-one.Ā  Stupid foul.Ā Ā 

Looks like Stotts is rolling with a small lineup to finish the game. RoCo at 5, Melo at 4, Powell at 3, CJ and Dame.

Gordon misses the FT and Melo goes in the way back machine to take Jokic to the rack for a nice layup.

Austin Rivers hits another big 3 to stretch the lead to 5 and then again to make it an 8 point lead with 3:49 left.



Lillard shakes off Aaron Gordon for a big layup. Chants of ā€œDefense!Ā  Defense!ā€ fill the Moda Center.

Two free throws and an easy layup from Jokic stretch the score to 10.

Dame responds with a deep wing 3. Aaron Gordon dunk and then a Norman Powell dunk.

Lot of energy in the arena.Ā  It’s great to hear fans into a playoff game.

Carmelo ties up Jokic and then wins the jump ball.Ā  Wow.

Dame gets a dunk and was probably fouled but no call. Itā€™s about that time.

Austin Rivers hits another 3 with 1:24 to go and that may be it.Ā 



Dame misses back-to-back 3s.Ā  Rivers misses a 3 and Carmelo tries to save it, but it goes into backcourt and right to Facundo Campazzo. He hits both free throws and its a 10 point lead.Ā  That was a killer.

Dame hits a 3 after being fouled by Aaron Gordon for only the 3rd foul on Denver in the 4th quarter.

Austin Rivers is fouled and hits both free throws. 115-106 with 30 seconds to go.Ā  What a quarter for him!

Carmelo responds with a 3 from the right break with 24.5 seconds gives Portland a little bit of life.

Campazzo misses one of two FTs. Dame responds with a 3.

Wild sequence where Campazzo loses the ball and as heā€™s falling down, pushes it towards Monte Morris. Looks like he got picked but the refs call a foul on Norman Powell.

Morris hits both FTs to make it 118-112. That will probably do it.

CJ hits a 3 and it’s 118-115.

Monte Morris is fouled with 3.2 seconds. Blazers need him to miss both.

Misses the first. . .

and second. . .Ā 

But Jokic gets the rebound and putback to finish it off at 120-115.Ā 




3 point shooting was the difference tonight. Blazers are 14-45 (31.1%) from 3 on the game and the Nuggets were 20-38 (52.6%)

Tough loss for the Blazers.

Game 4 on Saturday at 1:00pm PST back at the Moda Center.

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Portland’s pathetic defense and coaching costs them Game 2 in Denver

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

On a night when the Portland Trail Blazers could have really put the Denver Nuggets in a deep hole in these playoffs their terrible defense and even worse coaching. The Blazers couldn’t use the record-breaking night from Damian Lillard to take a 2-0 series lead at Ball Arena in Denver.

Terry Stotts made some decisions tonight that would have had rookie middle school coaches scratching their head.

First Quarter Thoughts

As expected the Nuggets started out red hot and lept out to a double-digit lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Nuggets were hitting all their threes and Nikola Jokic was doing his typical MVP-type things. The Blazers did not have the energy early on to keep up with the Nugget onslaught.

Nate Tibbets and Michael Porter Jr decided to get into it a bit after a timeout. It’s not often that you see an assistant coach get into it with an opposing player. Both individuals were assessed technical fouls and we are allowed to move on with our lives.

Nikola Jokic is ridiculous. There is a shot that he could go for somewhere around 700 points tonight. Not sure if defensive mastermind, Terry Stotts, has it in his constitution to put together a game plan that can stop Jokic.

Logo Lillard knocks down a three from well, the logo. Anfernee Simons follows up with a three of his own and the Blazers are only down six to end the quarter. All things considered, things could have gotten way out of hand. It might have been a success only being down by around 11.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Lillard goes to the bench and the Blazers begin to turn the ball over again. The Denver defense has been solid tonight, but some of these turnovers by Portland are definitely self-inflicted. They are going to need to start taking care of the ball to keep things close.

Denver took advantage of the turnovers to push the lead up to 16 points. Michael Porter Jr. is really becoming that second and third option that the Nuggets needed.

I also don’t like how this game is being called both ways. The officials are keeping their whistles in their pockets on some stuff that would have been a foul in a Knicks-Heat series back in the 90s. I like letting them play, but not when dudes are getting knocked out into the covid riddled fans of Denver.

Carmelo Anthony and CJ McCollum knock down a couple of baskets to give the Blazers some hope. Paul Milsap decided he didn’t like to give hope to anyone and had back-to-back three-point plays to push the Nuggets’ lead up to 18 points.

It might just be time to take a shower and head off to bed.

Damian Lillard was not ready for bed and he did not care that the bus was warming up. He hit three straight threes to cut the Nuggets lead down to 11, 57-46 with 4:45 left in the half. It seems like it’s been since February since we’ve seen this Damian Lillard. It looks like that hamstring might finally be healthy.

Oh hey, Derrick Jones Jr. finally was allowed to get into the game. They needed someone to slow MPJ down.

Lillard hits another three and goes to the line for two free throws. The Denver lead is down to only eight points, 61-53. The man is absolutely ridiculous right now. He has 29 points for the game and 19 in — he hit another three before I could finish typing out this sentence.

My god! I have a feeling I’m going to need a cigarette after this and I don’t even smoke.

Lillard single-handed led the Blazers back within four points. it doesn’t matter where he is shooting from they are all going down. There is no better step-back three in all of the league.

The Nuggets were forced to call a timeout and Mike Malone got Denver to pick up the defensive intensity. This led to some big plays by the Nuggets who finished the half on a 9-0 run to take a 73-61 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Portland is focusing on getting CJ and Nurk going to start the third quarter here. I like the move to get their other two main scorers going, but Lillard had the hot hand — it’s a damned if you do and a damned if you don’t situation. I’d like to see Norman Powell get going as well.

It might also be because Aaron Gordon is now on Damian Lillard.

The Nuggets have only outscored the Blazers by three points (8-5) so far here in the third quarter, but it feels so much more than that. I’m having flashbacks to that 94 series of the Sonics and Nuggets with how loud the crowd is getting into this. If I were the Blazers I’d start using Norm as the point guard and play both Dame and CJ off the ball. Make their defenders work a bit more.

Austin Rivers and Facundo Campazzo have both been pretty annoying in various ways this game. I’d love Campazzo if here were a Blazer, but he’s not.

Looking at the box score and Robert Covington has not taken a single shot this game. He’s not done much else either. Enes Kanter with only two points and three boards in this game as well. Only seven points combined from the Blazer bench. Eesh, Carmelo Anthony and Simons really need to get going.

Greg Anthony with the Bobby Heenan “ham and egger” reference. Damn, I miss that dude. His work at Royal Rumble 92 is some of the best wrestling commentary work of all time.

Campazzo gets a flagrant on CJ by just running into CJ. That is one of the worst calls I’ve seen in a game of bad calls. This leads to a four-point play by the Nuggets and they are back up by 17 points. Yet again, this is another really bad Blazer third quarter.

Threes by both Dame and CJ to end the quarter cut the Nugget lead down to 14.

That was not pretty whatsoever. I can’t wait until Stotts is fired and third quarters might not be something to be scared of anymore.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Portland had some nice defensive energy to start the fourth quarter. Nurkic with a big move to start the quarter, Powell attacking, and Nurkic fouls Milsap for no apparent reason… this was his fifth foul. About 15 seconds later he fouls out of the game.

No idea why Stotts didn’t pull Nurk out with so much time left and Jokic not on the court. Stotts makes some of the dumbest coaching mistakes I’ve ever seen in games. Nurk was playing well to start the fourth, but not to the point of leading the Blazers back on his own. He’s best served using that last foul on Jokic at some point in the final six minutes of the game after Kanter gets a rest.

Stotts then challenged the foul and it was unsuccessful. It was an obvious foul so the challenge was just a waste of the challenge and a timeout. The Nuggets of course go on a 9-0 to get the lead back up to 20 and ice the game.

Monte Morris, Shaquille Harrison, and Jokic finished off the game as the Blazers brought in the back end of the bench. At least Harry Giles, Nassir Little, and CJ Elleby got some playoff minutes. That’s about the only positive for the night.

Not a good look at all tonight.

Up Next

Game 3 is on Thursday at 7:30 PM — the series switches to Portland.

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Terry Stotts proves himself to be a defensive mastermind in Blazers win over the Pelicans, 101-93

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Tuesday night was one of those games where you will always remember where you were when you watched the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard come back from 17 points in the final five minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans.

After the game Tuesday night this game could have gone in one of two ways; either a 140-119 butt-kicking or a defensive struggle throughout the night. In the modern NBA, the latter option seemed unlikely and that is what we ended up getting.

The Blazers led by Derrick Jones Jr. on the defensive end put the Pelicans away, 101-93, and swept the season series 3-0.

First Quarter Thoughts

The Pelicans are not messing around at all tonight. They are definitely the more active team to start. They have some great motion out top to free up Brandon Ingram for two open threes to start the game and giving NoLA a quick 8-2 lead. Lots of offensive rebounds, hands-on lots of loose balls. They were everywhere.

It had the feel that the Pels might just pull the rug out from under the Blazers and run away with this.

Damian Lillard had other ideas though.

Dame had 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor and 5-6 from three. He is still in that groove from Tuesday night. The Pelicans are laying off of him for some reason and then rushing at him off the switches. They even allowed Steven Adams to switch out on him a few times.

Lillard just hit a couple of threes over him like he wasnā€™t there.

Pretty sure the only thing Dame is seeing out there on the floor is the bottom of the basket.

The case for MVP is growing.

Second Quarter Thoughts

This is the second straight game that CJ McCollum comes out playing point guard to start the second quarter. This is so stupid on many different levels. The big one is that CJ has not had much game time and the Pelicans actually do a solid job of playing defense on point guards (not named Dame Lillard) physically without fouling. CJ is not ready for that.

The other point is that Anfernee Simons had been playing really well as of late. He had a ton of confidence coming out of the All-Star break. Simons didnā€™t see the court on Tuesday night and he should be seeing it tonight in some form.

You canā€™t let a young player down like that. There are other minutes that CJ can take, letā€™s not take the minutes away from Simons. He needs the time and the development still.

As I type this, 3J has shown back up and has led the Blazers to a 42-33 lead with a hair under nine minutes in the second quarter. McCollum had been 0-5 up until this point and his shots did not look close.

Enjoying the energy that we are seeing from Nassir Little tonight too. I love when he rebounds and runs. He has the skill to play point forward and does have an eye to be a playmaker, plus we all know that he might be the best finisher at the rim for the Blazers.

The Pelicans run some high hand-offs with Zion Williamson and the Blazers switch to a 2-3 zone off the hand-off. Zion Williamson scored 19 points on Tuesday night when the Blazers switched to a 2-3 ā€” so why would defensive mastermind Terry Stotts do it again?

Iā€™m not quite sure because Iā€™m not defensive mastermind Terry Stotts.

šŸ¤·

Damian Lillard once again sits too long into the second quarter. When Damian Lillard is hot there is only one man who can slow him down and that is the defensive mastermind, Terry Stotts. There are a lot of coaches in the league that are terrible with their rotations, but if it wasnā€™t for guys like Luke Walton and Mike Budenholzer (plus a few others), Stotts would be right there.

Poor Derrick Jones Jr. got hit twice in the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Once got a flagrant foul called on Eric Bledsoe and the other was not called.

Lillard only had five points in the second quarter, but the Blazers took a 57-48 lead into the half.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Here come the Pelicans cutting into the Blazer lead to start the quarter. The typical start of the third quarter for the Blazers. They once again have come out like Stotts spent the half handing out Ambien, warm milk, and doing some ASMR therapy.

It might have happened to both teams as the Pelicans quickly leveled off after some really clutch defense from Derrick Jones Jr, Rodney Covington, and Gary Trent Jr. The momentum changed when DJJ blocked a dunk on the same possession by both Ingram and Williamson.

Jones has been really feeling his role with the Blazers lately. I thought it was a mistake early on in the season, but heā€™s been winning me over. Not sure if he holds the starting spot next year. That should be going to Little.

And Zion Williamson has decided to take over the game in the third. He began to attack the rim and get to the line. The Blazers did not have an answer for him. At the end of the quarter, Zion Williamson had one of the top five all-time explosive first steps I have ever seen. He was four feet past Covington before RoCo even reacted. If the Blazers were not collapsing the paint that would have been a highlight dunk for Williamson.

The Pelicans somehow turned that possession into a turnover. Speaking of which, the Blazers end the quarter with a 1:2 assist to turnover ratio. That does not bode well for how the game usually ends.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Zion Williamson is continuing his strong attacking play to start the fourth. He seems to be the only Pelican player trying at the moment. CJ McCollum took a charge from Zion and he follows that up with a three and then Carmelo Anthony knocks down a three and Portland is off on a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter here.

Blazers are up by 14 and the Pelicans look all out of sorts at the moment. The Blazers defense is looking really strong against a bunch of guys waiting for a bunch of other guys to shoot the ball. Brandon Ingram has really disappeared in this second half.

The Pels are taking up a lot of clock to get a miss and the Blazers are taking up a lot of clock to get a make. Thatā€™s some smart play by the Blazers in the fourth quarter. We often donā€™t get to type those words about the Blazers in the second half of most games.

Gary Trent Jr. is in his own head right now. He reminds me of Arnold in that really crappy Batman movie. Heā€™s ice cold and not very good. Iā€™m a big fan of Trent Jr., but his play lately is going to make that contract extension a lot more palatable for the Blazers this summer.

And I might want to delete the above, Blazers have gone ice cold and have cut the Portland lead down to five. A combo of Lonzo Ball and Zion chipping away at that lead. This forces the Blazers into a timeout.

Out of the break the Blazers get back to back threes by Covington and Jones. Pushing the Blazer lead back up to nine points with just under two minutes to go.

Damian Lillard knocked down two free throws to seal the game up.

BOX SCORE

Next Up

Quick turn around with the Blazers taking on the Dallas Mavericks tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.

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Lillard and Trent canā€™t outscore the Lakers by themselves

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

On Friday night the struggling Blazers came into the cold and blustery Los Angeles area to take on the equally cold Lakers. Both teams are feeling the results of the injury bug (because the season was rushed to start) and both are looking a little heavy in the legs. The Lakers were losers of four in a row, while Portland had lost their last three after winning six straight.

The Blazers came out flat in the third quarter and could never inflate.

Portland falls 102-93 tonight.

First Quarter Thoughts

Iā€™m shocked that they called a travel on LeBron James to start the game. He always gets away with steps and it was called after Derrick Jones Jr. slapped him on the side of the head on a shot attempt too.

The Blazers quickly jump out in front 7-2 on a three by Gary Trent Jr. and a dunk by Derrick Jones Jr. LeBron on the other end once again tries to bully his way into the paint on DJJ, gets their pretending heā€™s Shaq in 2001, but he did a no-no in bringing the ball down and DJJā€™s quick hands slap the ball away. While LeBron is complaining he didnā€™t get a foul, the Blazers miss a shot in the paint, but Jones snags the ball, kicks it out to Damian Lillard who hits a three.

Blazers are up 10-2 and it forces the Lakers to call a timeout.

Really hoping Dame has a strong start to the game tonight. Heā€™s been off to slow starts in the last couple of weeks. Tonight while driving to get dinner outside of LA I saw a car that had an ā€œI heart Dameā€ license plate in front of me. Then I looked up and saw Lillard decked out in Lakersā€™ gold.

Damn near a road rage incident on T.O. Boulevard. Good thing my wife and dogs were with me.

This game has such a weird feel to it. I think there would have been a lot more running by both teams to start the game looking to get a knockout blow to start the game. Instead, both teams have pushed the momentum and have tripped themselves up early. With a touch over three minutes left in the quarter, the Lakers have four turnovers and the Blazers have three. It really feels like both teams are already approaching double digits in that category.

Then again, but I donā€™t know about the rest of you, but this has just been a weird week.

Dennis Schroder annoys the crap out of me. I will give him credit for his ability to really work the pick and roll and the way he attacks Enes Kanter after the pick. He gets right into the lane and has really good control over his awkward floater. That shot has no business going in, but it usually does. A minute later he knocks down a three.

Letā€™s talk about Terry Stotts defensive decisions. To close the quarter Carmelo Anthony got the defensive assignment on the hot Schroder. A weird decision since the Lakers were running the pick and roll and getting Kanter to switch off on to Schroder in the first place. Now Melo is playing off Schroder and waiting for the pick to come and on this play, itā€™s not coming. Schroder pulls up for three and knocks it down. The ball was almost to the hoop before Melo reacted.

It was a weird choice. I would have gone with Rodney Hood or Nassir Little on the assignment.

Whatever, Terry Stotts is a defensive mastermind and an NBA coach while Iā€™m a basketball blogger.

Blazers up 29-24 after one.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Rodney Hood knocks down a three to start the second quarter. Really need to get a good game out of Hood tonight. Well, need to get a good game out of the depleted Blazers bench tonight. Anfernee Simons calls glass on a prayer three over Montrezl Harrell and the ultra annoying Alex Caruso.

Derrick Jones Jr. is full of hustle tonight. I swear he already has 87 offensive rebounds five minutes into the second. Heā€™s gotten a few defensive rebounds as well and tipped a few to teammates. This is what Iā€™ve been waiting for from Jones for the entire year. He was supposed to come in and be a disruptor. I think it took a bit longer for him to gel and find his role within the team.

Hopefully, CJ McCollum has learned how to play defense while his foot heals.

LeBron James doing some LeBron James things and gets the Lakers within a point, this causes Stotts to bring Lillard in a bit earlier than he likes. Harrell finishes an and-1 to give the Lakers a two-point lead as they go on an 11-0.

During this stretch, the Lakers were playing a lot more physically and I think there were some fouls that should have been called. Lillard is the only superstar in the league to get hammered on a consistent basis and not get calls. It really has to be frustrating for him to get leveled on one end and then pick up a touch foul on the other end.

Heā€™s got 20 points so far in the half. His defense is just outscore his man by forty. It works for him. Iā€™d say that I love for him to pick up the defensive tenacity like another Oakland native, Gary Payton, but that type of defense (or any kind of defense) is no longer allowed in the NBA.

Along the lines of defense, Robert Covington has been a pretty big disappointment so far for the Blazers. His defense hasnā€™t been anywhere near where it has been for him in previous years, his shot is off, and heā€™s not really rebounding. There are periods of time that I have no idea if heā€™s on the court or not. Iā€™d say the Blazers should buy him out, but we all know they wouldnā€™t sign anyone to replace him and let Melo play 35+ minutes a night.

Lillard finally gets a call while being fouled on a three. Itā€™s because Horton-Tucker slid under Dame on his way down, and Lillard landed on his foot, twisting his ankle a bit. The way he landed I thought he might have torn his Achilles.

Damn near gave me a heart attack.

Before the last-second tip in to end the second half, Enes Kanter had been 1-6 in the paint tonight. Every single one of his shots has been hard off the front rim. Itā€™s not like the Lakers are shoving him hard out of the paint on his shots either. Heā€™s been pretty open, just bricking each and every shot.

Speaking of bricking everything.

The Blazersā€™ bench has been more trash than Kyle Kuzma tonight. Lillard has outscored the bench 24-8 in the half. Gary Trent Jr. was the only other Blazer player to score in double figures with 10 points.

Halftime Thoughts

Iā€™m thankful I didnā€™t have to see Caruso or Schroder over halftime.

Also, this halftime seemed pretty short.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Terry Stotts once again gave the team Ambien over half and instead of breaking down defensive breakdowns, he told them a story about a floofy rabbit, and they all had six minutes in a REM cycle before they were rushed out to start the third quarter.

Blazers have three turnovers and have given up seven points in the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter.

This Ambien and storytime theory is the best one I have as to why Portland is so bad time after time in the third quarter. There is no real reason for this. It really canā€™t be that the other team makes proper adjustments and Stotts doesnā€™t at the half, can it?

The Lakers also have Schroder and Caruso out together to start the third quarter. There are many reasons that I think Frank Vogel is a bad coach and this is one of them.

After Covid wraps up and things can get back to normal, if I saw Alex Caruso out on the street I may bump into him just to see if he falls down and tries to get a foul called on me.

Weā€™re about eight minutes through the third quarter and the Blazers now have six turnovers and hey look at that. That three-point lead at the half has turned into a six-point deficit.

The Lakers are out hustling the Blazers on both ends of the floor, knocking down threes, getting steals, Alex Caruso dunking and screaming on fools. This is not what you are supposed to do in a third quarter. All one of you youth coaches out there who reads this, record the Blazer third quarters, and show this to your eight-year-old second grade team. Letā€™s start to get to them at a young age and teach them to not ever suck in the third quarter.

This shot chart is a lot more kind than it actually appeared for the Blazers in the third.


Portland 3rd quarter shot chart against the Lakers.

Portland 3rd quarter shot chart against the Lakers.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

After three minutes into the fourth, the Blazers have not picked things up at all from their terrible third quarter performance. The Lakers pushed their lead out to 15 points with LeBron James on the bench. With seven minutes left in the game, the Blazers had more turnovers (15) than bench points (13).

The Blazers are a step slow.

Example: The Blazers ran a high double pick and roll with Lillard, Kanter, and Covington. Lillard had both Caruso and Morris follow him as he dove to the sideline. He stopped and passed to Covington at the top of the three-point line. LeBron dove out at Covington who held the ball instead of passing to a wide-open Gary Trent Jr on the wing. Morris was still on Dame when LeBron came out and crowded Covingtonā€™s right side. Trent was on his left. By the time Covington looked to pass, Morris was back on Trent, and Portland ended up turning the ball over.

A possession later Covington took a three from almost forty feet while double-teamed with over six seconds on the shot clock. This was the point in the game where it was pretty much over. The body language of the Blazers changed.

And that was the game.

BOX SCORE

Next Up

The Blazers get the weekend off before taking on the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at 7:00 PM.

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Beal & Westbrook snap Portlandā€™s hot streak, 118-111

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Trail Blazers entered their Saturday night showdown with the Washington Wizards on a six-game win streak after wins over the Magic, 76ers, Cavs, Mavs, Thunder, and Pelicans.

Bradley Beal (37 points on 16/27 FG) and Russell Westbrook (27 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds) made sure that streak ended.

Game Recap

Washingtonā€™s talented backcourt duo of Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook were cutting through Portlandā€™s defense early. The two combined for 38 points on 24 shots in the first half.

Beal kept up his scoring in the third quarter as he took advantage of some lazy transition defense from Portland.

Carmelo Anthonyā€™s first shot of the night was a four-point play off a catch-and-shoot on the wing. He helped the Blazers to a huge 43-point first quarter, led by Enes Kanterā€™s 10.

Portlandā€™s 12-point lead from the end of the first quarter was short-lived, as Washington blazed a 12-0 run early in the second and cut the lead to two. Anfernee Simons busted the run with a beautiful fading three, but the Wizards would take a 61-55 advantage into halftime.

Down five with five minutes to go, the struggling Blazers found some big plays from the Juniors: Gary Trent and Derrick Jones. The former hit a huge three and forced a turnover off of Westbrookā€™s foot, while the latter leapt for a monster block on Beal in the lane.

Unfortunately, Beal & Co. sparked a quick 7-0 run to take a nine-point lead with two minutes left.

A chaotic sequence ensued with under a minute remaining, including Dame getting a steal and running into Beal for a bizarre no-call.

MVP Watch

Lillard had an up-and-down night, emphasized by his tough offensive matchup against the 6ā€™8ā€ Rui Hachimura (when he wasnā€™t getting double-teamed).

After struggling to a 2/13 first-half start from the field, Damian Lillard made four of his first five shots to open up the second half.

La Heem went on to score 23 in the third quarter alone, capped off by a literal logo buzzer beater to end the period.

Dame Time may have come too early, though. His mere six points in the fourth came inside the last two minutes. He finished with 35 and 12 assists, but his performance was somewhat overshadowed by the frustrating physicality used against him and 20 missed shots.

Stats & Notes

Gary Trent Jr.ā€™s third three of the night marked a milestone for the young guard. His 10 consecutive games with at least three made threes ties the Blazersā€™ franchise record.

With Jusuf Nurkic and Harry Giles inactive, Robert Covington and Melo were forced into minutes at center behind Kanter. RoCo made his presence felt on the defensive end with four blocks.

Davis Bertans entered Saturdayā€™s game making 14 of his last 17 threes, but only managed 2/8 against the Blazers. Unfortunately, those two both came in crucial moments for the Wizards.

Next Up

The Blazers are back on the road for a big battle against the Westā€™s fourth-place Phoenix Suns on Monday at 6pm.

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Lillardā€™s clutch shooting extends win streak in OKC, 115-104

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

When the going gets tough, Damian Lillard gets going.

Portland certainly didnā€™t make it easy on themselves, but the Blazers are now winners of their last five games, and they have five more to go on this long road trip.

Game Recap

With less than two minutes to go and the shot clock winding down, Dame stepped back once more from the clingy Lu Dort to splash a clutch deep three. Are we even surprised?

A kick-out to a Robert Covington three and one more bomb from Dame sealed the win.

The Thunder scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, storming their way back into a one-possession game by the eight-minute mark in the fourth.

With 5:40 left, Dortā€™s triple gave Oklahoma City a one-point lead. Just like that, a 24-point third quarter lead had collapsed.

Gary Trent Jr. made a crucial five-point swing late in the game by forcing a backcourt violation on Diallo and splashing a three. These events were sandwiched by a pair of Dame step-back triples to reclaim the lead.

The Blazers held a 34-21 lead at the end of the first quarter, spearheaded by Damian Lillardā€™s 12 points and Enes Kanterā€™s seven boards. OKC was held to just 30% from the field.

Dortā€™s tireless effort helped bring the Thunder back within 13 with an 11-0 run in the third quarter, much to the dismay of Terry Stotts. This was after the Blazers owned a 24-point lead earlier in the quarter.

Young Guns

Anfernee Simons made his first three threes, giving the Blazers a 16-point lead to start the second quarter, although he did pick up his third personal foul midway through that same period. He finished the first half with a then-game-high 15 points on 5/6 from behind the arc.

Ant wasnā€™t the only Blazer in some first-half foul troubleā€”Dame picked up his fourth personal late in the second quarter. But the young Ant did eventually foul out with 7:40 left in the game.

Simons was one of a few notable young players to have exceptional performances. Nassir Little stepped up off the bench early to hit his first four shots, including two threes. His third was a bone-shattering slam over Isaiah Roby.

Gary Trent added 19 points as one of six Blazers in double-figures (interestingly enough, that list did not include Kanter).

Tough Love

The Portland Trail Blazers (now 17-10, 5th in West) entered this matchup with a four-game win streak after a close win in Dallas two nights prior. The Oklahoma City Thunder (now 11-16, 12th in West), meanwhile, were coming off an impressive win over the Bucks without a few key players.

Both teams entered Wednesdayā€™s game ravaged by Injuries. Oklahoma City was missing star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, George Hill, Trevor Ariza, and Theo Maledon; while the Blazers were without Jusuf Nurkic, CJ McCollum, Rodney Hood, Zach Collins, and Harry Giles.

Lillard banged knees with Dort while driving in the third, prompting understandable panic from Blazer fans and neutrals alike. The soon-to-be-All-Star rolled over and took his time getting up to make his free throws, but stayed in the game. A minute later, it was Meloā€™s turn to walk it off after landing awkwardly from a fadeaway.

Stats & Notes

Derrick Jones made a larger scoring impact than usual, notching 13 points on 4/9 from the field.

Darius Bazley scored seven of the Thunderā€™s first 10 pointsā€”not bad for a guy averaging just under 12 per game. He finished with 14 points on 4/16 from the field.

Next Up

The Blazers will face another important Western Conference bout tomorrow night in New Orleans at 6pm.

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Blazers beat Magic in home return, 106-97

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Trail Blazers are back for a three-game, four-night home stand after splitting their six-game road trip over the last couple weeks.

Lineups

Portland: Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr., Derrick Jones Jr., Robert Covington, Enes Kanter

Orlando: Cole Anthony, Dwayne Bacon, James Ennis III, Gary Clark, Nikola Vucevic


Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Game Recap

First Quarter

Gary Trent opened things up for the Blazers with eight first quarter points, including 2/2 threes, but it was Portlandā€™s defense that shined early on.

Al-Farouq Aminu made his return to NBA basketball after missing over a year due to injuries. It was fitting that his first action since November of 2019 was in Portland, where he spent four years of his career. That is, until he had to leave the game.

Carmelo Anthony heated up in the end of the first quarter and made a pair of threes, helping the Blazers to a 31-19 advantage after having one as big as 16.

Second Quarter

Melo and Gary kept scoring, though Dwayne Bacon hit Orlandoā€™s first three midway through the second quarter on their ninth attempt.

CJ Elleby saw some second-quarter action, making one shot in eight minutes of playing time, while Rodney Hood lost his shoe at one point.

The Magic chipped away at the lead as Portlandā€™s offense stalled, but the Blazers still held a 50-43 advantage by halftime. Gary Trent led all scorers with 15, while Portlandā€™s own Terrence Ross (from Jefferson High School) shot 5/8 for 13 points off the bench.

Third Quarter

RoCo was hit in the face, went to the ground for a while, and ripped his mask off in frustration (his actual plastic mask, not a COVID-preventative one).

Dame hit two huge threes as Dwayne Bacon failed to complete a four-point play. The Blazers found a spark on the defensive end and put a quick 7-0 run together, forcing a timeout from Steve Clifford. RoCo got the block before hitting a three in transition.

Orlando was still commanding Portlandā€™s attention, though, and Vucevicā€™s second three of the night cut the lead back down into single digits.

The Blazers responded with fluid ball movement and a signature 18-point quarter from Dame, as well as a trio of Anfernee Simons triples.

Fourth Quarter

Melo drew a couple shooting fouls on Chuma Okeke and another on Ennis, completing one three-point play the old-fashioned way and another the ā€œnewā€ way. He finished with 23 pointsā€”a season-highā€”and moved up to 12th on the NBA all-time scoring list.

Up 13 with Dame at the line and five minutes to go, Nikola Vucevic was slow getting up for the Magic on the other end.

He stayed in the game, playing the entire second half.

The Blazers held their lead and with a comfortable 14-point advantage in the final minute, the starters got a rest.

Final Thoughts

This was a game that should have always been a check-mark. Orlando are missing a whole load of players, but the Blazers are too. With its badly-injured-but-not-as-bad-as-it-has-been-recently squad, Portland got their stuff together for a nice win. Most importantly, the Magic never really got within fighting distance.

Player(s) of the Game

Carmelo Anthony, and not just because he beat out Oscar Robertson on the scoring list. His season-high performance was a huge bench boost to Dameā€™s easy 36. A good all-around win.

Next Up

The Blazers will host the 76ers, who will be looking for revenge after a depleted Blazers squad beat them in Philly last week.

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