Turns out, it’s a lot easier to win games when you have depth. The Portland Trail Blazers’ bench got to play the role of the unlikely hero, scoring 42 points and giving the starters much-deserved rest in a 108-87 blowout of the Dallas Mavericks. The Trail Blazers are now 3-2, first in the Northwest division and, due to some blowouts (tonight included), sport an 8.6 point differential, third best in the NBA.
Recap
The first quarter started with the Trail Blazers driving to the hoop like dying bees that fly right into your arms and sting the bejesus out of you in Autumn. The officials called a handful of fouls, many of them as charges against Portland, but the Trail Blazers were bent on getting to the rim. That, combined with a white-hot LaMarcus Aldridge, helped the Trail Blazers keep the game close even as Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis led Dallas to a 24-20 lead after one.
The Trail Blazers were 0-4 from three to start the second, and C.J. McCollum sought to fix that problem right away as he drained a few triples. Aldridge had no rebounds until he tapped in a Wesley Matthews miss at the first half buzzer, but the Trail Blazers were facing a 50-46 deficit at the half. Portland had 9 turnovers to Dallas’ 3, and it was questionable whether the home team was going to be able to right the ship soon enough to eek out a win.
The third quarter pushed those thoughts aside as Matthews hit a three and drew two shooting fouls; Nicolas Batum was showing off his passing, hitting LaMarcus for assists. Two consecutive threes forced a Mavericks timeout, who suddenly looked up from below the rims of their 50-gallon hats to a 71-60 deficit halfway through the third.
With the Trail Blazers’ bench crashing the glass, moving the ball, and generating open shots, the starters took a look around and wondered whether they still needed to be there. The Trail Blazers lead was 81-68 after three quarters.
The bench was playing so hard that they were fighting each other for rebounds, which is a great way either to guarantee the other team doesn’t get them, or to comically flail into one another and give up a fast break. As Lillard finally shook off some early rust, the lead ballooned past 20, and the game was pretty much in hand, ending in a 108-87 Trail Blazers win.
Players
Aldridge was huge in the first half, and finished the game with 20 and 7. His rebounding was not as important with how well Batum was cleaning up.
Lillard struggled early, then turned it on in the 4th and ended up with 18-5-6. The TNT announcers mentioned that he did not look hampered by his reported abdominal strain, but I’m not sure that was as big of a problem as managing increased attention from opponents’ defenses.
Matthews was cruising in the third quarter, and offered 12 points from just six shots.
Batum was 2 points, an assist, and a rebound away from a triple double. That’s Nico.
Robin Lopez played very solid defense during the key stretch early in the third that cracked the game open. He also hit the offensive glass, finishing with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
Chris Kaman is quietly becoming my favorite Blazer. Don’t tell RoLo. Kaman had 12 and 5 with a block on 6-6 shooting.
Steve Blake had a nice night, hitting some momentum-driving shots and holding down the fort. 8 points, 2 boards, and 3 assists in 20 minutes with no turnovers.
Thomas Robinson brought one thing. You probably know what it is. Say it with me… ENERGY. His stats don’t impress (3 and 4 with a steal), but his +16 in just 13 minutes does a better job illustrating how he affected this game.
McCollum was 3-4 from three for 13 points.
Dorell Wright hit a garbage time three. So did Meyers Leonard.
Notes
- When (jokingly) told by by TNT’s sideline reporter that she’d heard from Mavericks players that he had stolen plays from his time there as an assistant, Head Coach Terry Stotts responded, “it’s not stealing if they’re your plays.” Dang right.
- Batum looks better and better every year, despite shooting troubles. This year is no exception. It’s a lot of fun watching him play.
- The Trail Blazers had some truly dominant moments… with their bench. It’s tough to remember the last time that’s happened.
- They also had to hang tough after some bad three-point shooting early, and they finished the game 12-20 (40%) from downtown.
- The Trail Blazers medical staff was performing CPR on a fan, who was carried out on a stretcher. The Trail Blazers later tweeted that the fan had been transported to the hospital. Our thoughts are with her and her family.
The Trail Blazers face the Clippers this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PST in Los Angeles.