In what was probably the ugliest win of the year, the Portland Trail Blazers struggled long enough to fall behind double digits to an inferior Boston Celtics team, then did just enough to get past them for the 94-88 win. The Trail Blazers have now won seven straight and are 10-3 on the year.
Recap
Jared Sullinger scored the Celtics’ first 5 points, and the Trail Blazers found themselves down 7-0 early after some lethargic defense in which they allowed offensive rebounds aplenty. Starting 0-8 from the field is not the best way to start a road trip either. The Trail Blazers had some decent shots at the rim, if contested, but they just wouldn’t fall. LaMarcus Aldridge, who started 0-5 from the field, sized up Kelly Olynyk again and again and got to his spots, but the rolls and bounces that usually guided the ball home were instead spitting them out. Nicolas Batum got a few threes to drop, the second one off the glass, and with three minutes in the first quarter to go it was 15-20
But the Trail Blazers still could barely get anything at the rim to fall. There wasn’t much to feel hopeful about, unless you had faith that the Trail Blazers could at some point shoot their way out of a wet paper bag. With Aldridge and Damian Lillard combining for exactly one made field goal, the Trail Blazers were very fortunate to find themselves down just 21-23 after a little 6-0 spurt to end the quarter. Portland shot 8-26 in the first to the Celtics’ 10-26.
As the second quarter unfolded, neither team looked like they knew what they were doing, particularly on offense. But if both teams were struggling, Boston was struggling slightly less. In a surprising development, Chris Kaman was a minor liability for the first time this season, committing bad fouls, biting on pump fakes, and taking jumpers early in the shotclock. Meanwhile, Boston found that the Trail Blazers’ guards were having trouble recovering from picks fast enough to close out on midrange shots, and the Celtics started feasting on jumpers as the lead crept to double digits halfway through the second.
Both Lillard and Matthews made their first baskets late in the half, which may have been enough of a drought to be fatal against most other teams. Fortunately for the Trail Blazers, these were the Celtics we were talking about, and after Lillard snuck down the lane for an and-one, the Trail Blazers were again very fortunate to find themselves down just 49-44 at the half.
The Trail Blazers came out purposefully in the third. A Batum jumper tied it at 57 with eight minutes to go in the quarter and a scramble that led to an Aldridge shot at the rim gave the Trail Blazers their first lead of the night, 59-57. But everything seemed a half step too slow, and they gave up a bucketfull of turnovers in the quarter. Steve Blake did have a nice crossover to open up a three with time winding down. The third quarter ended with the Trail Blazers nursing a 73-72 lead.
The fourth began with a Portland push and a Lillard three that built the lead to eight as part of a Trail Blazers’ 10-0 run. The lead got to 10 before the Celtics answered with a 3-point play, but Trail Blazers fans were hoping the game had been effectively reset. Kaman made up for his earlier inefficacy, proving that pushing through difficulties can be the best way to fix what ails you rather than shying away from them. As the game wore on, you could see the Trail Blazers finding their rhythm as the Celtics were losing theirs. The little shots at the rim that were spitting out for the Trail Blazers early were falling. The defensive intensity had also been corrected, and the Celtics no longer had the wide open looks they enjoyed early.
With five minutes to go, the Trail Blazers were up 89-77, and a Portland win looked as inevitable as the game looked hopeless in the beginning. However, the Celtics made a push off a three and a tough runner to close it within 7. Fortunately, Matthews chose a great time to hit his second three of the game to bring it to 92-82 with about three minutes left. Just as you thought the game was really, truly over, the Celtics made a pair of threes, the second without a defender in the zip code, and the Celtics had the ball down four points with a minute left. Boston allowed Matthews to streak out an get the easy dunk on the Lillard assist, and finally, mercifully, the game was over with the Trail Blazers victorious, 94-88.
Players
LaMarcus Aldridge missed many of the shots he usually hits, even a few right at the rim. Credit to him for not losing faith in himself, as he put together a solid game with 20 and 14 with a block, even if he did only shoot 7-21.
Damian Lillard had some of his worst turnovers of the season, getting caught in the teeth of the defense and trying to bail himself out with a misguided pass. He struggled finding his way, going just 4-14 for 12 points, but did offer 9 boards, 5 assists, and 4 steals to offset his 5 turnovers.
Chris Kaman gets second mention for having the confidence that nobody else seemed to bring. While he made some… less than astute calculations early, he kept at it and it paid off. He had 16 points on 6-13 shooting with 8 rebounds.
Robin Lopez had 9 and 7 with a block, but his 4 turnovers better reflected how he looked for much of the game: not great, which was disappointing. Credit to Kelly Olynyk for playing hard defense.
Wesley Matthews was a sad panda for most of the game, and only took seven shots for his 10 points. His 5 boards and 3 assists helped, but he (along with many other Trail Blazers) didn’t quite seem himself. Also true of many of his teammates, his second half was a sight better than his first.
Steve Blake made a point to look for his shot. Tonight, that’s exactly what he needed to do as everyone else was slumping. He was 5-8 for 11 points and 5 assists, and was one of the only Trail Blazers who really brought it the whole game.
Notes
- This was ugly. While it felt like the Trail Blazers’ energy was running between 30% and 75% all night, they did ratchet it up when they needed to. The adjustments were solid, they just didn’t seem to go far enough.
- The Trail Blazers had twice as many turnovers as Boston, 16 to their 8. From here, it felt like four times as many.