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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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Heat burn Blazers in Portland, 107-98

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Tyler Herro had 14 points off the bench while Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 42 in a solid defensive win for the Miami Heat in Portland.

Damian Lillard was held to 12 points on 3/10 shooting, burying the decent supporting cast of Norman Powell (17 points), CJ McCollum (17), and Enes Kanter (10 on 5/5 from the field).


Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Jusuf Nurkic made a return to the starting lineup for Portland after missing last nightā€™s game with a minor knee injury, although he was restricted to 25 minutes. Enes Kanter has been putting up historic numbers in his place, and both would miss time in this game.

The Heat were without one of their newest playersā€”Victor Oladipoā€”who was out with some type of knee problem.

The first quarter was a sloppy one, but the Blazers came out of it with a 31-25 advantage.

The second quarter was ruled by the Heat, though, who took an eight-point lead into halftime. Tyler Herroā€™s 10 points off the bench complemented Jimmy Butlerā€™s 10 and Bam Adebayoā€™s 15 well.

Portland has struggled in third quarters this season, and that trend continued tonight. The Heat held a 89-71 lead by the start of the fourth.

A pair of CJ McCollum threes were Portlandā€™s only points from the 6:48 to 2:44 marks in the third. Derrick Jones Jrā€™s third takeoff of the night was one of the bright spots, while Kanter getting hit in the face and leaving the game was not.

Meanwhile, Dame was struggling. He was only 3/7 by the end of the third, boding bad news for the Blazers. Sure enough, his first three attempts in the final period were all misses, and the Heat soon assumed a 20-point lead.

The bench was in the game with four and a half minutes to go, but they played well against the Heat starters. They were able to whittle the lead to single digits by the end of the game. Final score: 107-98.

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Kanter logs historic night as Blazers beat Pistons 118-103

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Enes Kanter snagged a Trail Blazers franchise-record 30 reboundsā€”12 of them from the offensive glassā€”to go with 24 points as the Blazers cruised to a series sweep over the Detroit Pistons.

Damian Lillard reminded us all why heā€™s currently second in the NBAā€™s Kia MVP Ladder, splashing a pair of early threes. He would finish with 27 points and 10 assists.


Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Game Summary

Derrick Jones Jr. shook Detroitā€™s backboard with a vicious block at the end of the first quarter. Terry Stotts surprised some when he benched Jonesā€”one of Portlandā€™s best on-ball defendersā€”in favor of a shooting boost in Norman Powell.

Portland went on a 9-0 run to close the first quarter and led 33-23. Lillard and Saddiq Bey both had 12; but Enes Kanterā€™s seven points, 10 boards (five offensive, five defensive), two assists, a steal, and a block stole the show.

Kanter started in place of a resting Jusuf Nurkic, and this seasonā€™s usual starting center introduced himself early on with an aggressive slam.

Kanter would finish the first half with 11 and 16. By the end of the game he had notched a Blazers-record 30 rebounds alongside 24 points.

The Blazers ended the second quarter with a flurry as well, rebuilding what was once a 16-point lead into nine before the break. Portlandā€™s surge was fueled by some missed calls against Kanter and Lillard, who turned their frustration into tough finishes at the rim.

That lead grew to 15 in the first few minutes of the third as CJā€™s point total grew to 17. He would finish with 26. Portland would cruise in the fourth and earn a much-needed comfortable victory.

Next Up

Portland host a Victor Oladipo-less Miami tomorrow at 7pm on the second night of a back-to-back. The Blazers defeated the Heat 125-122 on March 25th as part of a four-game road winning streak.

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Bucks run over Blazers ā€” Blazer bench lost in wine country

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Welcome back to the best Blazer recap that is heavily influenced by the Wine of the Night. Do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle if youā€™re into Ports.

Tonight, the Blazers took on the Milwaukee Bucks who thoroughly beat the Blazersā€™ brains in earlier in the season. The Blazers were banged up in that one and right now they are the healthiest and it did not matter because the Blazer bench decided to take the night off. Actually, they did not do much better tonight than they did the last time the two teams met.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 47 points and made it his personal mission to stop every momentum-building moment by the Blazers.

First Quarter Thoughts

Bobby Covington has really been shooting the three well this year. He started off slow but has been on fire lately, shooting almost 60% from three post All-Star Break. I really thought bringing him in was a mistake, especially at his age. His defense didnā€™t bring the price tag justification either.

Hey, Iā€™ll admit when Iā€™m wrong though.

He is going to have his handful with Giannis tonight. Heā€™s attacking the paint like always and heā€™s getting Jusuf Nurkic switched out on to him on defense the last few possessions and is just abusing him. Giannis was pulled from pregame warm-ups due to some sort of leg injury.

Canā€™t tell heā€™s having any discomfort so far in this game. Giannis is looking like an MVP to start the game. Damian Lillard only has one point and no shots, CJ and Powell only have one shot between them in the first five and a half minutes to start the game.

Not sure Iā€™d be running the offense through a hot RoCo, but hey what do I know?

For three straight possessions, Terry Stotts had Nurkic guarding Giannis almost 30 feet from the hoop. Iā€™m not a defensive mastermind like Stotts so Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d go that route, but hey what do I know, Giannis has literally scored all five times Nurk has guarded him so far in this game.

The Bucks hit eight straight shots until Pat Connaughton missed a long three. I miss that dude. He was such a good fit for this Blazer squad. I also miss that heartthrob Jake Layman. Thatā€™s definitely my Terps bias showing through.

Damian Lillard starting to come alive! The man deserves the MVP award. Portland would have ten wins at most right now without him. The Blazers were only 5-23 from the field in the first quarter. Lillard had two of those makes.

Blazers gave up a wide-open three to Jrue Holiday to end the quarter. Not sure how the defense is always an issue with this squad. Itā€™s been pretty terrible the last five years and it only seems to get worse.

Might also be the fact the NBA doesnā€™t really allow defense to be played anymore.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Bucks run an inside post with Giannis and Connaughton. RoCo is forced to foul to stop the easy reverse dunk. Heā€™s got 14 points early. There is zero answers for him at this point. Itā€™s not like the defensive mastermind, Terry Stotts, is looking for one either.

Word is that he found a penny before the game though. Wasnā€™t heads up, he kept it anyway.

Norman Powell knocks down two threes on back-to-back possessions to get his first points in the Moda Center. It forces the Bucks to call a timeout. Blazers have cut the lead down to seven points.

During the timeout, there were some highlights of Clyde Drexlerā€™s triple-double against the Bucks back in the ā€™80s. A great game by Clyde, but the game took place in The Mecca. I really miss when stadiums and arenas didnā€™t have a corporate name. The Mecca is a great name for an arena, so was Seattle Center Colleseum, and a few other places. Baseketball called it back in the late ā€™90s during the scene where literally everything had a corporate sponsorship.

Anyway, out of the timeout, Giannis gets two quick dunks and the Bucks are back up 11. One of them after Nurk picked him up 30 feet from the basket again. Not sure what the f*** is happening there. They having Covington covering Khris Middleton and Derrick Jones Jr. is covering the point guard on most possessions.

This is not how Iā€™d be running things on the defensive side, but then again, Iā€™m not a defensive mastermind like Terry Stotts. It would have been nice if the Blazers picked up an athletic big man during the deadline or off the waiver wire.

Middleton-Dame-and Forbes trade three-pointers. Middleton and Forbes hit their threes from the same corner and were wide open.

Man, Nurkic looks like crap out there tonight. Heā€™s spending too much energy in bad matchups on the defensive side and has nothing to give the Blazers on the offensive end. He looks slow and has zero confidence. I donā€™t blame him, Stotts hasnā€™t put him in a situation in which he has a chance to succeed tonight.

Maybe itā€™s time to give David Vanterpool a call, see if heā€™d like, I donā€™t know be a head coach.

Blazers get hot and cut the lead down to eight points, behind Dame and RoCo knocking down a couple of big threes. Giannis comes in off the bench and the lead gets right up to 13 again. There is absolutely nothing the Blazers can do against him. Granted, most teams canā€™t do anything with him, but this is the easiest Iā€™ve seen him score since the last time he played against the Blazers.

Dame ends the quarter by blowing by Giannis and finding CJ on the wing for a three.

Portland is only down by seven, 60-53 to end the half. This really could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Halftime Thoughts

The Blazers have apparently signed Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the rest of the season. I really do not know about this move at all. Heā€™s not great defensively and has never had a season where he shot above 50% from the field or above 29% from three. How does he fit in? And why now? The Blazers needed a body for two and a half months and they didnā€™t sign him then. The dude could not even make the Timberwolves this season.

Tyson Chandler was a move that made more sense, maybe even kick the tires on Jamal Crawford or IT if they werenā€™t happy with Simons or Trent. Otto Porter Jr. is going to be bought out by the Magic soon. Heā€™s a much better fit over RHJ.

I really donā€™t understand this front office some (most) of the time really.

Really happy the Port Iā€™m drinking has a higher ABV than RHJā€™’s true shooting percentage.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Blazers immediately cut the lead down to two points after two nice plays by Damian Lillard. Blazers are lookingā€¦ oh nevermind, Giannis gets back to back three-point plays. Giannis is getting within three feet of the basket at wil
l. The Blazers are refusing to double him, but with the four guys around Giannis who shoot damn near 40% or better from three, itā€™s best to give up the two by Giannis and hope he misses the free throws?

Giannis has ten points in two and a half minutes to start the third. He has 34 for the game. He really has a chance to get 55+ tonight. He can not be stopped. He is getting some latitude on calls where he should have been whistled for a travel. His pivot foot is very loosely planted.

Dame and Giannis have now decided to guard each other. Dame knocks down a nice step back on Giannis and Giannis gets a dunk.

Checking out the box score and the Blazer bench is currently 0-13 from the floor and only has two points on two free throws from Derrick Jones Jr. Again, why go out and pick up a cold RJH when Otto Porter Jr. would be a decent spark off the bench.

Carmelo Anthony has not been remotely close to making a basket tonight. His last three shots have been a quarter-inch away from being airballs.

Bucks outscore the Blazers 37-20 and have a 97-73 lead heading into the fourth quarter. If this continues we might get drunk storytime with Uncle Kev.

Yeah, no one probably wants that.

Oh, got word that the Blazer bench is stuck in Wine Country. Hereā€™s a live look at them trying to get back to the game.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Anfernee Simons hits a three to start the quarter and then CJ hits another to get the Blazers off to a great start here in the fourth quarter. Melo knocks down a three of his own and the Bucksā€™ lead is cut down to 17. Not a bad start here in the fourth for the Blazers. Their bench scoring is up 600% here in the fourth.

Giannis makes another basket in the paint. Every time the Blazers make some sort of mini-run Giannis quickly comes into the game and immediately ends it. Again, Stotts had Nurk out on him and he just is not fast enough to stay in front of him. With Nurk getting blown by at the top of the arc there is no rim protection behind him. This has been one of the dumbest defensive decisions Iā€™ve ever seen in the 32 years Iā€™ve been watching sports.

The Blazers pick up the pace and get the lead cut down to 12 points. If they had only played a decent, not even a good third quarter and this game is probably around five points or maybe the Blazers have a lead.

Guess what happens? Middleton gets two free throws to push the lead back to 14 and Giannis gets another and-1. He has 47 points with almost four minutes left in the game. He is such a killer.

Blazers wave the white flag and this one is over.

Box Score

Next Up

Back at it tomorrow night at 7:00 PM against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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Familiar faces reunite in Tampa as Blazers outlast Raptors 122-117

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

In the wake of a trade between the two franchises, the Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors met in Tampa, Florida for a matchup full of familiar faces.

Both teams walked away happy after swapping Norman Powell for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr., although the two are in different spots this season. Toronto is currently on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, while the Blazers sit just above the Western Conference play-in at sixth place.

Powell got his second start in as many appearances, even though Damian Lillard was well enough to return to starting action (after missing the last game against Orlando to rest).

It was Trent who scored from the charity stripe for the first point of the game, but the lead would go back and forth throughout the first quarter.

Rodney Hood, the other Portland departure, rattled off eight points in the first quarter without starting minutes.

Former Oregon Duck Chris Boucher had a strong block on Enes Kanterā€™s dunk attempt. Boucher always seems to play well against the Blazers.

Damian Lillard set his new season-high for assists in a quarter with nine, but the Blazers trailed by that mark at the end of the first, 41-32. The Raptors hit five threes in that first period.

CJā€™s arrant pass was saved by Melo into the hands of Powell, who stepped up for a big three to help Portland keep stride in the second quarter. The Blazers were notching an uncharacteristically-large number of assists in the first half (15 assists on the first 17 made shots), but were still characteristically bad on defense.

Aron Baynesā€”who torched the Blazers as a Phoenix Sun last seasonā€”slammed over RoCo and Powell in the second, but Nurkic answered with a three on the on the other end. Baynes would give Nurk a hard foul in the third quarter, resulting in a flagrant foul and a boost for the Blazers.

A pair of flashy Derrick Jones Jr. layups put the Blazers down one with under two minutes left in the first half, but Rodney Hoodā€™s halftime buzzer beater saw the Raptors up six at the break, 74-68.

Despite being dropped from the starting lineup, Jones Jr. was the only Blazer to join McCollum and Covington as double-figure scorers in the first half.

Dameā€™s 3-for-12 start from the field was burdening the Blazers, but a 14-0 run would see them take a seven-point lead with 2:37 in the third.

Even while surging into the lead, it felt less like the Blazers taking command and more like Toronto shutting down. The Raptors failed to hit a three all quarter (despite many open ones) while Portland exploited Torontoā€™s vulnerable painted area.

We know how volatile third quarters can be for the other team, so dominating one felt good. Toronto made only 4/18 total shots in the third (17%), while Portlandā€™s 10/27 (37%) was enough to take the lead back.

With a thin four minutes left and an even thinner two-possession lead, the Blazers got just enough stops to ice the game. It took a while, thanks to a bunch of reviews and fouls and tom foolery, but they got it done.

CJā€™s floater slowly rolled around the rim until it dropped in with a minute left, and the next possession would see one bounce around before doing the same.

McCollumā€™s 10 fourth quarter points gave him 23 for the game, along with seven boards and five assists. He added a block on Van Vleet for good measure at the end.

Ultimately, this is not one to brag too much about for the Blazers. They came in and took care of business against a worse opponent, but it wasnā€™t pretty. You canā€™t survive many games when giving up 74 points at halftime, especially in the playoffs.

Itā€™s not the playoffs yet, but these are still valuable games to win. I want to avoid the play-in at all costs, and Stotts surely does too.

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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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